November 9, 2014 Pentecost 22 Proper 27 Year A Farewell Sermon by The Rev. Matthew P. Holcombe St. David s Episcopal Church, Wayne PA

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Virginia Daniels
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1 November 9, 2014 Pentecost 22 Proper 27 Year A Farewell Sermon by The Rev. Matthew P. Holcombe St. David s Episcopal Church, Wayne PA I speak to you in the name of One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit + I stand before you and before God a changed priest, a changed husband, father, friend, and a changed Christian. I also stand before you with a full and thankful heart for having the privilege and honor of serving God along side each of you. When I arrived at St. David s 1,225 days ago I knew my time at St. David s was going to an adventure. Little did I know how much I would be changed and how much fun I would have along the way. I have experienced profound joys and sorrows while serving God and you at St. David s. I have blessed newborn babies and baptized a lot of happy children and a few crying adults. I have married many wonderful couples and explained to my confused daughter at least 3 times that I m not actually marrying anyone else and she is not getting a new mom. I ve sat with many families, some here today, during some of their darkest hours and I have prayed over loved ones as they have entered the Kingdom of God. I ve heard many heartbreaking stories and just as many stories filled with miracles and joys beyond comprehension or explanation. I have also been transported to an Alaskan mountain and rejoiced with each of you as a new day was herald from on high. It will be these life events that I treasure the most and have taught me the value of being present and that you and I do our best work when we meet people where they are. 1

2 I have experienced what it means to put on the armor of God, or as Frank likes to say Here is a new costume for you wear. My crash course in St. David s Costume Wearing 101 came during my first week when a parishioner gifted with costume making walked up to me and without introducing herself said, Spread your legs I need to measure your inseam. Looking back I ve played many roles a Panda, an Aviator, an Angel, St. Paul, St. Gabriel, St. Nicholas, a Beach Bum, a Cowboy, a Woodsman, and a jolly fellow with white hair, a beard, and a rad hat. Publically, I d like to thank Frank for allowing me to dress up as a priest in all my spare time. It has been these opportunities to wear the armor of God that have taught me: Regardless of what you look like or what you are wearing, everyday you and I have the opportunity to share the love of Christ in a broken and confusing world. I have experienced cultures and adventures beyond my wildest imagination. On mission trips and pilgrimages I ve flown the distance equivalent to flying around the world not once, but twice. My heart has expanded as I ve led and accompanied trips that have fed hungry school children in Uganda, built homes and a church in Guatemala, and shared communion with Haitians. I have also explored the birthplace of the early church in Turkey and I have sailed on the Sea of Galilee and walked in the footsteps of Jesus. It has been these adventures that will remind me the value of knowing our Biblical heritage and how closely connected you and I are with the world around us. 2

3 I have experienced the wonder and amazement on the faces of adults, youth, and children as they have grown in their faith and understanding of God s love and grace in their lives. Whether it has been teaching or leading education or Bible studies (some very early in the morning) I ve had the chance to witness countless Ah-ha moments as the pages of scripture and Bible stories have come to life and been experienced in a new way. It has been these thin moments that will remind me the value of asking open ended questions and the importance you and I have to listen and wait for what comes next. I have experienced and admired the numerous silent ministers we have in our midst who change light bulbs and help this community to better realize its full potential. From the staff at St. David s, to the vestry, to the countless parishioners who volunteer and participate in the quieter and not so visible ministries I thank you for allowing me to be a bystander and to watch the fruits of your labor blossom and nourish the mission of St. David s Church. It has been all the silent ministers that remind me that it is not the priest, but rather it is you God s chosen that are the pillars in this and every church. 3

4 I have experienced the importance of having people by your side who nourish, challenge, and encourage you. As my relationship with God has strengthened over the past several years, also has my network of mentors, spiritual directors, friends, and individuals who have fed me spiritually and emotionally beyond what I could have ever hoped for. As many relationships have flourished publically so has my relationship with Alicia, my wife and my best friend and the most supportive person I know. She is the reason I am able to stand before you and do what I do. Thank you. For it has been each encounter, each conversation, and each interaction that reminds me and should remind you to surround yourself with faithful, honest, and loving people who make you want to be a better person. I have also experienced and learned to be ready for anything. Just like in your life and my life, no two days are ever the same. At St. David s, no two days have ever been the same for me and often no two hours have been the same. Whenever there was a knock on my office door or my phone rang or I received an , I never knew what would come next. 4

5 It could be someone needing a hospital visit, or food, or a prayer, or help with rent, or counseling, or last rites, or the fire department asking if we were going to set Christmas trees on fire, or it could be a teenager just wanting to talk, or sometimes people would just want to share that a prayer had been answered or to tell you how God has been working in their life. For some people this hourly rollercoaster of emotions and events would be dreaded. For me, this is one of the main reasons I have loved serving God at St. David s and one of the things I will miss the most. Being ready for anything and faithfully serving has been central to my ministry at St. David s Church. And it just so happens this theme of being ready for anything and faithfully serving is conveniently echoed in our scripture lessons for today. (That s right you didn t think I would actually miss an opportunity to relate this sermon to scripture and our Gospel Lesson, did you?) In our first reading from the book of Joshua, we hear Joshua reminding his people that they have a choice about who they are going to serve. Are they going to serve God or are they going to serve the desires of a society and culture that places value on objects, money, and a wayward hierarchy? Ultimately we learn that the people commit to being faithful and serving God, but not before we hear Joshua say, As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. 5

6 In our second lesson from Paul s 1 st Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear Paul inspiring the believers in Thessalonica to encourage one another in all things. But chiefly Paul is encouraging these first believers to be ready for anything, especially the second coming of Christ. And lastly, in our Gospel Lesson from Matthew we hear the parable of the ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom, five of them foolish and the other five wise. In the parable Jesus explains the five wise women bring extra oil for their lamps and the five foolish women expect the oil in their lamps to be sufficient. As we learn - the five foolish women run out of oil and when the bridegroom arrives he only welcomes in the five wise women who were ready for him. As we listen to this parable Jesus reminds his disciples and us that we must be ready for anything. In the life that God has given you and the life God has given me, we are daily given the pleasure to faithfully serve God through the chances and changes of life. Through this community of St. David s, this vibrant, life giving, and life altering community, amazing things have and will continue to happen, but God is counting on you. God is counting on you to serve faithfully and to make a promise of how you are going to live your life not just today but every day you greet this world we live in. 6

7 God is also counting on me and although it has been and will be difficult to say goodbye, I bid each of you a farewell, until we meet again. And as I say farewell and leave a trail of memories behind, I pray that you know that I will be taking a piece of you with me wherever I go For it has been a mighty foundation that you and St. David s Church has given me and words can not sufficiently express my deep gratitude and appreciation. Therefore I m lifting words once said by Reinhold Niebuhr a famous theologian and author of the Serenity Prayer. It was Reinhold Niebuhr that once said Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love. In closing Thank you for the hope, faith, and love you have shared with me and my family. Amen + 7

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