Vicar's message from February, 2007

A Sermon at Saint Patrick's
Epiphany 4 -- Year C -- January 28, 2007
Text: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Ps. 71:1-6, 15-17; I Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30. Sermon by Tinh Huynh+
---------------------------------
On Friday and Saturday, Bill Houston, Doan, Kim-Anh and I were in Richmond for the Annual Diocesan Council Meeting. Bill, as St. Pat's Delegate, will later report on Council in details. But I would like to report that the Council elected the Very Reverend Shannon Sherwood Johnston, a priest of the Diocese of Mississippi, as Bishop Coadjutor. Upon hearing the result of the vote, all at the meeting stood and applauded, then we sang Doxology and Bishop Lee prayed. This year's Council was an enjoyable event. The issue of congregations leaving the Diocese and the Episcopal Church was not dominating, as expected. Instead, the atmosphere of the Council was one of celebrating and thanksgiving; faith, love and inclusiveness seemed to speak to the hearts of everyone present. Another highlight of this year's Council was the celebration of Church of the Messiah in Chancellor, Virginia, which was approved by Council to change its status from being a mission to being a parish. While everybody sang, the clergy and people of that church proceeded into the meeting place in a spectacular and joyful way.
    Upon returning to Saint Patrick's, I found today's readings go well with what I witnessed at Council. Paul's writing in I Corinthians Chapter 13 is on a word that always catches our attention, which is "love".   When Paul wrote this beautiful passage, he himself had gone through various situations in his life. His understanding of love was not shallow. The love that Paul spoke about is a kind of love that makes many of us struggle the entire time we are on this earthly journey. This love is not merely on our lips. On the contrary, it is deep inside us, silent, and is very demanding of the person who practices it.   Paul says, "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child (meaning I got angry easily, or criticized those who disagreed with me, or felt very insecure, or held on to anger, or out of fear of rejection became boastful). But when I became an adult (meaning I began to know myself better, being aware of my own mistakes and wounds in the past, and being aware of my own weakness in the present), I put an end to my childish ways.
    Love and spiritual maturity go together. One must be willing to take the road less traveled to put Christ's teachings into practice.
     What does Jesus teach us in today's gospel? At first glance, we may find nothing. To find the teaching, we need to read between the lines of the story. We surmise that Jesus first spoke to the Nazarenes about love. They liked what he said. Perhaps in that moment Jesus allowed them to understand "love" in a shallow way, and so his word entertained them well. Then Jesus turned to the issue of caring for the poor and accepting the outcast, and the rich and the elite in the synagogue became irritated. Nazareth was not only Jesus' home town, but it was also a place that had practically no foreigners. By contrast, the people of Capernaum, where Jesus previously taught and performed miracles, were mostly non-Jews. So the Nazarenes resented Jesus for going into places of foreigners whom they despised; and because they had known Jesus as he grew up among them, they expressed doubt about him, and they challenged him to perform miracles. This challenge was manifested with jealousy and envy, out of hatred, because exclusivism and discrimination had been deeply ingrained in Jesus' listeners' minds.
    How did Jesus respond to such a challenge? Jesus pointed out to them that, in the Hebrew Bible, there were times in which God healed the sick among foreigners and neglected those of the so-called chosen people.   Jesus told them that God treated Jews and non-Jews alike, and sometimes God treated the non-Jews better. All are equally worthy, but the poor and the outcast might have received more love. Never before had those stories become so painful for them to hear.   Jesus' words offended the Nazarenes; he pointed out to them that their belief about themselves was in conflict with their own scripture. The power of the word moved the listeners to their feet. Anger served as a way for self-defense. The Nazarenes grew up in a tradition telling them that only Jews are worthy in God's sight. Arrogance, together with outward piety and beautiful words on the lips had helped to cover their own fears and anxiety. Yet Jesus' word penetrated those layers of cover and revealed to the fanatic Nazarenes their vulnerability, and maybe even their wounds deep inside. His word triggered explosion. Fanatics are angry people who can explode readily. In today's world we also see so many of them.
    The Nazarenes were rough on Jesus. They almost tore him apart. They pulled him by the arms. They hit and punched him. They dragged him to the brow of the hill. They meant to kill him. Just then a miracle happened. Jesus "passed through the midst of them and went on his way." How? Luke does not describe clearly. Some people believe that Jesus, with his power, pushed them aside and walked away. Some others believe that Jesus simply vanished.
    Jesus did not strike back at them. His love embraced even those who hated him. Jesus was full of love and compassion. Among the men who meant to harm Jesus at that place there must have been someone who later looked for Jesus in other towns, to apologize and to follow him. Imagine what Jesus would say to that person. His word of forgiveness was always ready, and was always wonderfully inclusive.
    It is because of inclusiveness in the Episcopal Church that I am standing before you today. Saint Patrick's is one of very few churches in America that has Vietnamese clergy. At Saint Patrick's we have white Americans, black Americans and yellow Americans, and people of all races and color are welcomed at Saint Patrick's. At Saint Patrick's all who wish to draw nearer to the Lord are invited to the Lord's Table; even the very young children are welcome to receive Communion. Many of our church leaders are women. The Presiding Bishop of our Episcopal Church is a woman.
    So today, as we commission members of the Vestry, the Treasurer and the Registrar of Saint Patrick's, we remember the story of the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth, and in so doing we understand that all are called to live our lives proclaiming Christ's love and Christ's compassion. The call to proclaim Christ's love is first a call to begin a journey seeking true love.
    As we are together in community, our focus is not on differences, but on the wonderful love of Christ, which embraces everyone. Amen