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Sermon for December 15, 2002:Third Sunday of AdventSt.
Luke's, Jamestown
by
The Rev. Eric M. Williams
Who are
you?
This
week our “Popcorn Theology” group will be traveling to to see the second movie in the Lord of the Rings series. I’ve loved the books since I was a child and have reread them, on average, once a year since then. My wife tells me I’m odd for doing this, but I was delighted to discover that Christopher Lee, who (of course) plays one of the bad guys in the movie, has also read the books annually over the years. The books were published by J.R.R. Tolkien shortly after the 2nd world war, and were not an immediate hit, but by the sixties they had become a worldwide phenomenon. They tell the epic fantasy story of a ring of evil power and the quest to destroy it and thereby its maker. The ring tempts each character with the lure of power— the promise that they can become more than they are. Those who resist the temptation of the ring do so because they don’t need to become more than they are. They know their identity, and they have accepted their role and place in the story. And that is for me the secret of the popularity of these stories and these characters: They have a potency because of the depth of their character. Though they are imaginary, they seem to have a history, an identity, a presence. Frodo, the unlikely hero, is able to endure terrible trials and danger, partly because of his unique heroic character, but more so because that character is shaped and formed in a community, which includes his heritage and roots back home, and the fellowship which supports him on the quest. Tolkien seems to be telling us that it’s important to know who you are, and to whom you belong. A long time ago, in a world almost as distant from ours as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, a group of priests and Levites tested John the Baptist: “Who are you?” they asked him. John was a remarkable figure for that or any age. In a time of great political and religious upheaval and turmoil, he single-handedly brought about a kind of spiritual revival. Thousands thronged to hear his preaching
and to be baptized and renewed in the river Many, I am sure, believed He was the Messiah, God’s chosen and anointed. After all, the evidence was there in the lives he changed. He must have been tempted to believe it also. But, “No,” he said, “I am not the Messiah.” “Nor am I the second coming of Elijah or the prophet, or anyone else that you might think up, but in fact you’re not far from the mark.” I know who I am and I know who sent me. I am not the Messiah, but I am his herald. You think I’m something—just wait for him. John leaps from the pages of the Bible because of the depth and richness of his character and his faith. His self-knowledge gives him a power that is palpable. Against him stand all of the hypocrites and politicians, hollow men whose very names have been forgotten. They had listened to the voice of the tempter and traded living faith for religiosity, the living God for job security. They no longer heeded the words of Isaiah: to bring justice to the oppressed, liberty to captives, comfort to the mourners, righteousness and joy to all of God’s people. In fact, they were no longer concerned about God’s people, but instead on maintaining their own position and privilege. How ironic that they questioned John, for it was they who knew neither themselves nor God. John knew who he was because he was rooted in a relationship with God. By legend, he met Jesus first while they were still in utero, and he leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. His father Zechariah prophesied that he would prepare the way for the Messiah. And he was raised to know and love God, in a community of believers. Someone asked me recently why the church is important. I believe in God and Jesus, they said, but I don’t like all the church stuff. And yes, there is plenty of “churchiness” that any one of us could object to. Many debates about worship, architecture, language, and politics. Traditions that are meaningful to some and not to others. Innovations that are welcome to some and not to others. But at the heart, it seems to me, the church is important because it tells us and keeps reminding us who we are and to whom we belong. And the world can be a dangerous place when you lose that basic identity, when you forget who you are. In preparation for a fellowship at Teacher’s College, I was asked to read a book called Best Intentions. It chronicled a well-intentioned program which sent inner-city minority kids
to elite prep schools in New Some kids did great and were exposed to greater opportunity as the designers had intended. But for other kids, the story was much different. They faced a terrible identity crisis from which some never recovered. They never fit in at the prep schools and after a while they didn’t fit in back at home either. For some, the strain proved too great and they burned out. We may change a great deal in our lives. We may experience all manner of new things, but if we lose touch with who we are, where we come from, if we forget to whom we belong, we are lost. There is much to tempt us also in this world. Most likely we shall not be tempted to see in ourselves the Messiah, and our temptation will not be shaped like a gold ring. But there are many voices which seek to tell us who we are, to enslave us to their own wills, or even more perilously, to our own misguided will. It is important for us to face the same question that John did: “Who are you?” And to come to an answer. An answer not only based on our family, homeland and tradition. But even more on our relationship with the living God, our membership in the Body of Christ. So week by week we come here, to “Make straight the way of the Lord” in our hearts and lives. And we hear again these words that remind us who we are. “We who are many are one Body, because we all share one bread, one cup.” “We are very members incorporate in the mystical Body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people, and are also heirs, through hope, of thy everlasting kingdom.” These are not just nice sounding words, but a profound statement about who we are and to whom we belong. We are not lost souls cast adrift in a cold and uncaring world,
but members of the part of His mystical Body. In Him we have a history which is recorded in the Old and New Testaments. In Him we have forgiveness of sins and access to God’s unending love. In Him we have a future as part of his family forever. In Him we know who we are and to whom we belong, and that is surely cause for rejoicing. |
410 North Main Street, Jamestown, New York 14701Phone (716)483-6405 * Fax (716)483-6406 * stluke@madbbs.com |
