Sermon
for 27 Pentecost * Proper 29 A
November 20, 2005
St.
Luke’s Church, Jamestown, NY
The
Rev. Deacon Cathleen Basile
Today’s gospel tells us about
the most fundamental way to know Jesus. To serve the least of these is to serve
my father. Jesus is again underscoring His mission on earth- He has come to
serve not to be served. Webster’s dictionary defines service in many ways but I
would like to add my own. It is one definition that I believe gets to the core
of Christian service is-To act toward (another) in a specified way
that pleases God.
Let me tell you a true story
about what I mean when I say- serving others to please God. When my nephew
Kellen , the one most people think looks like me well before the black eye that
is. When Kellen was about five years he and a group of us from St Luke's
visited St. Susan’s Soup Kitchen. I was assisting Virginia Carr with
confirmation classes that year. We were exploring ways that would help class
participants experience Christ in the world. What better way of helping the
least of these than to take the class to a soup kitchen. Off we went on
Thanksgiving Day to St Susan’s Soup Kitchen to assist in serving the
thanksgiving meal. My nephew was not part of the class but my sister Marge
thought that this would be a great experience for her family to do together.
So she asked if they could come. We wore jeans and old shirts. Appropriate
attire for this occasion and yet we still looked very well dressed among the
folks we were there to serve. We were there to serve although in retrospect
today I feel a deep sense of shame for my somewhat discriminating state of
mind. They were not like me. They were dressed poorly and lacked proper
hygiene. I was polite and proper but definitely kept my distance.
It was not a good feeling at
least not the feeling one is supposed to get from serving. God has a way of
getting to us in spite of our insolence. We had taken Kellen to feel the value
of serving and he did. He pounced on the situation like a hungry tiger
attacks its prey. He was here, there and everywhere, serving food, cleaning,
talking to the people as if they were family, laughing and engaging them in his
world. Making them feel welcome and closer to God‘s benevolence. I served food,
but Kellen served them the spirit of God. He was God’s conduit for manna from
heaven that day. Kellen served Christ that day. Why, because Kellen was totally
unaware of the misfortunes of the people he was serving, he was having a great
time and driven by the spirit of Christ. The experience engaged his heart not
his intellect not his senses and certainly not his prejudices. Kellen service
was driven by his childish innocence, which allowed God to easily use him as an
ambassador of his love. That day was not for Kellen’s transformation, that
day’s experiences changed me and my attitude toward the least of us. I had taken
Kellen to learn what I had assumed I knew to teach him the value of giving and
that day ended with Kellen as the teacher. Whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter
therein. (Mark 10:15) Amen!!!! To that
We all are God’s children.
When we serve the least of us, we serve Christ as long as we serve engaging the
heart and embracing those we serve as equals. It is not easy to detach ourselves
from feeling that we are different or somehow better than those we serve. It is
the evil ones way of tainting the acts of service we engage on behalf of Christ.
It is what is in our hearts that determines how close we are to God. .
When we serve the least of
these in a way that pleases Christ, we are honoring His second most important
commandment. Love thy neighbor as thyself.
The word least is used to mean
less fortunate not less humane or having less capacity to manifest Christ in
this world. My capacity to love is not related to my bank account, my looks, my
friends, my piety or any thing that materially enhances the quality of my life.
My capacity to love is based on how much of Christ I let in my heart. When I let
Christ guide my heart my love for the world can be immense and I no longer
struggle with the world of my senses. I am driven by a spiritual fire the makes
me an agent for the love and light of Christ in this world. I know of only one
person in my generation that had Christ all the time in their heart – Mother
Teresa. Let me share some of her thoughts on today’s gospel
“The dying, the
crippled, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved they are Jesus in disguise. It
is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much
we give, but how much love we put in the giving. Speak tenderly to them. Let
there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of
your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give
your heart as well.
There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that
everyone is seen as equal before God. I’ve always said we should help a Hindu
become a better Hindu, a Muslim becomes a better Muslim, a Catholic become a
better Catholic You and I, we are the Church. We have to share with our people.
Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing. Jesus
made it very clear. Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to
me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you
receive me. Thank you Mother Teresa for such profound words on today's gospel.
Christ is asking you
and me to be His love in the world.
I have talked about what it
means to serve in a way that pleases God, but who are the least of these that
Christ talks about? We often think about the least being folks from third world
countries, the poor, people with aids and other horrible diseases, the addicts
and alcoholics, the single mothers and fathers, the old people, the orphans,
well you get the picture. Certainly not you or me!!! It is someone very
different from us. Is there any least among us? I say yes. The least we can
find anywhere and everywhere. Any one of us could become seriously ill. And
although I hope to stay young at heart always, the kids in youth group keep
telling me, I'm getting older. Let me add one special category of least - those
deprived of love.
There is a terrible hunger for love in our world. We all experience that in our
lives - the pain, the loneliness. I have a patient I visit through hospice who
is 92 years old. She is able to push her self around in a wheel chair. She is
intelligent, witty, and has a heart of gold. She doesn’t want to live, not
because of her illness, but because she is lonely. We must have the courage to
not only to recognize this but also to do whatever we can to alleviate this
hunger. You may even have these folks right in your own family.
Find them. Love them.
It is never enough to talk
about faith and love. We must live the Christian faith and the love that is at
the core of that faith. Love and faith without deeds have no consequence on the
quality of life in the world. We must delivery the goods ourselves. We must
engage the pain and the suffering; we must make the sacrifice that is necessary
to be truly servants of Christ. Actions speak louder than words.
It is the journey of the
spirit and our humanity and not the mind that brings us closer to God. Actions
engage the very core of our being and allow us to experience the moment and all
its wonders.
During our first trip to
Puerto Rico to establish a relationship with our sister parish, an obviously
homeless person approached our group for some money. Any one of us could have
given him money and that may or may not have been beneficial to him depending on
how he would spend this money. Instead, our own rector took the man bought him
a meal. You cannot even imagine how much that impressed my spiritually immature
being at the time. I was in awe of him. But don't tell him, I said that.
The need for genuine,
Christ-like love remains as great today as it ever did. Love is first of all an
action. Love is the energy behind good works.
We do not understand what
caring is until we care for someone, we do not understand what comfort is until
we comfort someone, we do not understand what giving is until we give to
someone, we do not understand what friendship is until we befriend someone, we
do not understand who Christ is until we serve the least of these.
There is nothing so humbling
than to see an orphan in a foreign country who by our standards…is the least of
these…and they are happy and filled with the spirit of God. Poverty is not
penance dished out by God it is a freedom that we in this country may never come
to understand. In this country the more you have the better and sometimes the
more you are occupied and the less you give. The more is better philosophy has
made us prisoners of our materialistic existence. The less you have the less you
need to be happy and hopefully, the deeper your capacity for spirituality is.
This does not mean that we are doomed to travel on a less spiritual journey to
God. I Believe we are predisposed to have Christ in our hearts more often than
not. Whether you live an impoverished life or a rich life you are still an
heir to the kingdom of heaven. Nevertheless, whether young or old, poor or
rich, republican or democrat, catholic or Anglican you can be an agent for
Christ and enhance the quality of life for the least both locally and
globally.
We are not all meant to travel to other parts of
the world, or to teach, or be on the altar guild. But, I believe we all do have
a place in the puzzle of God’s loving service. No piece of this puzzle is too
small or insignificant. When we respond to others, we are responding to
Christ. We are Christ bearers before others in our homes, in our church, in our
schools, at work, and in the world. What would happen if, every day, we were
always conscious of this truth and did our best to put it into action? We are
Jesus’ hands and feet to be a blessing to all those we come in contact with. In
the end we just need to let this parable be a challenge to us. A challenge to
live out God’s love with a new depth. A challenge to seek God’s guidance to
show us how to love others, and a challenge to ask for forgiveness when we fail
to. Like many of Jesus’ parables, it leads us back to the same point. We can
only find that depth with God’s help. Only Christ’s love can give us the
strength to love the unlovable people. Only God’s Holy Spirit can give us the
guidance to know how to help those who have been deemed lost cases. Trust Jesus
to meet the challenge and then you will be ready. And when Jesus returns he
will say to you, “You helped the least of my sisters and brothers and you helped
me. Enter into the Kingdom.” May God place in your hearts a compassion and
desire to serve others. I leave you with a prayer from Mother Teresa.
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve
those people throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give
them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and by our understanding
love, give them peace and joy. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to
the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.” Amen.
