Proper 14, 2007
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
We are a parish not large in number or wealth but generous of heart. This past week, from this little flock, the Father made our part of the kingdom present for 52 children infected or affected by AIDS. Rainbow Camp 2007 was the 14th in an annual series of camps dedicated to providing an incarnational Christian presence for children infected or affected by AIDS. The organization, planning, and staffing come in large part from St. Paul’s Parish. Members of this parish served as counselors, team leader, program director, medical staff, day volunteers, and executive director. The hours of volunteer time are hard to calculate with all the advance planning done by so many. Year in and year out, the children come from homes devastated by poverty, infectious disease, and social injustice within our state, nation and world. To see the face of AIDS, one only has to visit camp, watch children made angry by our failure to be a community of compassion to every person affected by the virus. HIV is simply a virus that spreads from person to person reporting in it’s infectious cycle the social injustice that calls persons of faith to work for a better society. We work the camp in response to the abundant love God pours into our hearts. It is an act of faith!
Abraham obeyed God when he was called to leave his home and journey to an unknown destination. Those who served as counselors at Rainbow Camp left comfortable air conditioned homes to share a hot dormitory on some of the most humid and hot days and nights of August. It was difficult to consume enough water to replace that lost to the withering heat. I wonder how hot the desert was when Abraham and Sarah set off in their faith journey. We are so conditioned to comfort that discomfort is hard on our whole being – spiritual, physical and mental. As God promised that the descendents of Abraham would be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, we have the promise that God will give us the Spirit to direct us in this important mission.
Jesus, the word incarnate, said to his disciples: “do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Sell your possessions, give alms, and make your treasure in heaven, which is eternal. Jesus directs us to see the greater treasure, the eternal home, prepared for us by God. We journey toward our eternal home by faith. Faith is the assurance of things unseen – we cannot find our home in God by cleaver plans or our reason, but by adherence to the promise of God to direct us by the Spirit. We must open our hearts and minds to see a new way of living, one that is not always comfortable, one that is often difficult, challenging, and yet in the process we find what we need – in so many unanticipated ways, we find the Spirit of the living God within us and among us – directing, guiding, renewing and inspiring us to continue the journey toward the fullness of love – God’s own self our destiny in faith. When the word became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus announced the kingdom of God has come – thus we understand that the kingdom of God is nothing other than being in Christ – reunited with God – now in this time and forever.
Jesus wanted his disciples to redirect their priorities from survival thinking – concerning home, food, and clothing – to see the larger perspective of life in God – what we might call quality of life. When we adopt a consciousness of life as gift we can begin to understand that God gives us the life we have, that it is a gift given in love and delights the giver. When we accept a gift we understand that the giver is communicating love to the receiver. If we accept the precious gift and take seriously the meaning of it, we will also become givers because we know that what we have received is to be shared.
God gives out of abundance. We receive love from the origin of love for God is love. We are loved beyond our wildest imaginations and that gift is precious and indestructible. God’s love cannot be stolen by thieves or eaten by moths; it is eternal. It is not easy to anticipate when we will receive a new gift of life and love from God. It often comes just at the moment of need – when we are tired, stressed, feeling empty. At those moments of utter dependence, I have found that if I will quiet myself, go to a place of peace and quiet, and just open myself to God, the gift of love will restore me, and give me the strength I need for that moment. It is when I don’t go aside and allow God to renew me that I lose patience or worse. If I fall into the “Ann do it trap,” my need will become so great that I can no longer give. Faith requires that we do what we know we ought to do and that requires a continual communication with God. We receive and may give out of abundance, but learning to live by faith will very often require more – much more. Living and walking in faith will lead us to the end of our natural strength, force us to our metaphorical knees in prayer, seeking God’s help – then and in that way we then have the strength of spirit to do what we are called to do.
During Rainbow Camp I along with other volunteers shared experiences that drove us to our limit – in patience – in physical strength – in times of greatest demands placed on us – we became more aware of our need to lean on God for what we truly needed to serve the children in our charge. I learn from the children and the staff that all of us have a fragile sense of self. We come from very different homes, families, and traditions, but we share something more profound – our humanity – our need for human companionship – our need and desire for love. God alone can satisfy our deepest desires. When we rely on possessions, comforts of home and food, we are in danger of missing the greatest gift we will ever know – that God’s good pleasure is to give us the kingdom.
We need not fear failing when we rely on the everlasting arms of God to hold us steady, to direct our energy and liberate us from the things that keep us from walking by faith. We can step out into the dark, uncharted territory of unexpected encounters by faith and know that God is with us. We have received life and love from God and it is our duty and our joy to share it. We are recipients of the kingdom of God, and we are called to be givers out of the abundance we have received. Fear not little flock for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.