The Church of the Transfiguration

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Naomi Carr
6 years ago
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1 The Church of the Transfiguration The Little Church Around the Corner One East 29th Street, New York, NY littlechurch.org A Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Year B): July 22, 2012 The Right Rev d Andrew St. John Last weekend some of you may have seen articles in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times which were critical of the Episcopal Church in light of its recent General Convention. The Wall Street Journal article was particularly nasty and contained many factual errors which were roundly refuted in various responses. The other article made some criticisms of the Convention, of its continuing liberal policies, and of the decreasing membership of the Episcopal Church, but put these in a wider context of issues of governance and of sociological trends nationwide that affect all churches particularly those we call Mainstream Churches. Institutions like the Episcopal Church are rarely at their prettiest when they gather for their triennial General Conventions. Our General Convention is like Congress with two houses, the House of

2 Deputies made up of clergy and lay people and the House of Bishops. There are something like 1,000 members of Convention. Basically the Convention oversees the life of our church: its doctrine, worship, discipline, mission and finances. Each convention deals with many issues some uncontroversial but others controversial which are the ones the press like to focus on. Ours is a democratic church and like in any democracy our dirty linen is not hidden but aired in public. So it is easy for people to comment upon and make criticisms of the state of the church. What these articles fail to do is to give justice to the thousands of Christian communities and to the myriad of programs around the country, to parishes such as this, where the gospel is being faithfully preached; where regular worship is being offered to God; where people are being welcomed into and formed into community; where programs to promote justice and mercy are initiated and supported; and where the good news of hope, peace and love in Jesus Christ are being practiced and proclaimed.

3 Yet each of us knows that at times we can find institutional religion difficult. It is easy to become cynical and despairing when the church is in conflict with itself or when there are financial or sexual scandals or when we watch the Tudors and discover how unloving and cruel the institutional church has been in the past. I can remember years ago visiting a gorgeous medieval church in England which just took your breath away. There was this majestic pile standing in the middle of what is now a small village seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I was talking to a man who turned out to be one of the Wardens of that church. He said that they were trying to raise three million pounds to replace the roof of the church. He added that at times he wondered what all that fund raising had to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet he knew that he enjoyed the rich legacy of the past and he recognized he was a steward called to hand on the building to a future generation. I empathized with his sentiments: at the time I was Rector of a historic Melbourne parish with its own roof problems. And I still do so. We have done much work in restoring this church and there is more to do. How do we balance maintenance and mission?

4 His dilemma which we who inhabit historic buildings can easily share is an age old tension which we see played out in the first reading from 2 Samuel. King David had relocated his headquarters from Hebron to Jerusalem. Last week we heard how he brought the Ark of the Lord back to Jerusalem so God s focal presence would be at the heart of his kingdom. This week we hear how David longed for more. He wanted to place the ark in a permanent building which would replace its tenttabernacle in which it had resided in the wilderness years and beyond. David s intention was thwarted by God s not yet. God said through his prophet, Nathan, that he had been perfectly happy with his current accommodation and that a more permanent house could wait for the next generation. This tension, which I call the tent-temple tension is between a less permanent, more flexible, more mobile sanctuary and a permanent, more solid one. We see it in this city today between churches like our own and many others in this neighborhood, products of faithful Christians over many generations, and the newer, community and nondenominational churches like Redeemer Presbyterian and various community churches, which are flourishing in terms of congregation but

5 do not have permanent homes, choosing to rent space as needed. Of course history tells us that like the Methodists the second generation of newer churches usually look for permanent homes. But the tension is an important one theologically. Just consider the last part of the first reading. What God is really interested in is making a house for David, that is a lasting dynasty rather than a building made with hands. While the history of Israel tells us that David s successors had there ups and downs nevertheless for us Christians, the covenant made between God and David found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, the City of David. But it is the well-known Ephesians reading which helps us to resolve the tension I have outlined, the tension between tent and temple, between the institutional church and its God given mission. But now in Christ Jesus says Ephesians, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. This wonderful passage outlines how that peace has come about and then concludes: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the

6 saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. Notice the language that is used to describe our relationship with God and each other which we have in Christ Jesus: household, foundations, cornerstone, structure, temple, and dwelling place. Like God s covenant with David to make him and his successors a house which would witness to God s presence, his promises and his power, so Ephesians reminds us that our primary call is to become a community of faith which will be a dwelling place for God, a springboard for God s active presence in the world. This call is all about creating faith communities, communities to worship and witness, what we call spiritual communities. But at the same time we are an incarnational religion, one that believes God uses people like us and the material world to reveal his purposes. So we build churches as sacramental signs of God s presence, as focal points of faith, worship and service. This church like any church is not an end in itself.

7 If it were we could make it a museum with an entrance fee and visiting hours. No this church, this physical space, is the house of a faith community, a worshipping, witnessing, and serving congregation. To do this we need a roof over our head; we have beautified it and cared for it to enhance our worship and work; we open it daily to allow others to enjoy it for itself and for what it stands for. In other words it is not either/or, tent or temple. Rather it is both/and. The living community and the bricks and mortar have their part to play in the proclamation of the gospel. Who we are as a people is vital to the proclamation of the good news of God: our welcome and hospitality; our devout, ordered and beautiful worship; our proclamation and education; and our serving and outreach ministries are all important. But so is this fine building with its garden duly maintained and cared for as they witness to God s creation; to God s embodiment in our world; to God s faithful abiding and welcoming presence. So let us be who we are: citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Amen.

A New Kind of Temple. Rich Yauger

A New Kind of Temple. Rich Yauger A New Kind of Temple Rich Yauger God is not building a place, He s building a people a people who are called the Church! We have to remember who we are and the purpose for our existence. Building terms