"Journey with Jesus: Discussions and Debates" Lent 3, March 3, 2013

Isaiah 55:1-13
If you are thirsty, come and drink water!
If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk without paying a cent.
Why waste your money on what really isn’t food?
Why work hard for something that doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods.
Pay close attention! Come to me and live.
I will promise you the eternal love and loyalty that I promised David.
I made him the leader and ruler of the nations; he was my witness to them.
You will call out to nations you have never known.
And they have never known you, but they will come running because I am the holy One, God of Israel, and I have honoured you.
Turn to God, who can still be found.
Call out to God, who is near.
Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts.
Return to the Holy One, our God.
The Eternal One will be merciful and forgive your sins.
God says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours.
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.
“Rain and snow fall from the sky.
But they don’t return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat.
That’s how it is with my words.
They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.”
When you are set free, you will celebrate and travel home in peace.
Mountains and hills will sing as you pass by, and trees will clap.
Cypress and myrtle trees will grow in fields once covered by thorns.
And then those trees will stand as a lasting witness to the glory of our God.

Mark 11: 25 –12:27
Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that God in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Again they came to Jerusalem.
As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.”
They argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?” —they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Then Jesus began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another servant to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture: 
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was God’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?”
When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.
Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’ There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; and the second married her and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her.”
Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong.”
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"
Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Holy One our God is one; you shall love the Holy One your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'God is one, and besides God there is no other'; and 'to love God with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbour as oneself,'-- this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the realm of God." After that no one dared to ask him any question.
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the child of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."' David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?" And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
As he taught, Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

***

Will you pray with me? Creating God, teach us to see you in each other; remind us that to you alone belongs all that is. Give us the courage and wisdom and grace to care for one another as we care for ourselves. In all your many names, amen.

Wow, long readings today! But I didn't want to leave any of those sections out--they all offer an angle on the main idea of Mark's gospel--we do not own anything, all we are and have belongs to God, and when we recognize that and live according to that understanding, then we are indeed living in God's realm.

I am not going to go through each section in detail, bit I want to bring out the main ideas in each and show how I think they are connected.

Remember that as we go through Lent this year, we are walking with Jesus in that last week of his earthly life. Today we are looking at the events of Tuesday, in the structure used by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan in their book "The Last Week." Jesus is in the Temple again, having created some havoc there the day before, turning over tables and saying that the religious authorities were misusing their power. However, all seems calm enough today as Jesus engages in debate with several people.

This was a frequent method of teaching in the days. Someone in the group of disciples or onlookers would pose a question and the teacher would respond, explaining the answer in terms of their teachings. We see this very often in the gospels, and we can see traces of it in Paul's letters, when he is clearly answering a question that has been asked.

So here we have several questions about how to live life--who is in charge of our lives, what does God want most from us, and so on. Early on, Jesus tells a parable, which actually answers many of the questions he is later asked.

The parable about the tenants and the vineyard is often called the parable of the wicked tenants, but it would be more accurate to call them greedy tenants. The tendency over the centuries has been, as it was with the account of the fig tree and the Temple last week, to understand this as about the Jews, who did not admit to Jesus being the Messiah. But that is to put too much weight on the concept of the vineyard owner's son. The point is that the tenants were trusted with the prized possession of another, and did not care for it properly. Looked at in this way, the pointing finger swings away from others and points to ourselves--and no one likes to face their own shortcomings.

That vineyard is the world, which belongs to God, and we are the tenants who are to care for it and give what it produces to the owner--to God.

The coin that Jesus asks to see has the face of Caesar on it--so it belongs to Caesar. But everything else--and by extension, the coin, too--belongs to God, for God is, as devout Jews then and today say, and as we Christians too believe--God is one god, and there is no other; and that we should do to others what we would have done to us, and that therefore human divisions are meaningless to God, whether they are divisions of race, age, nation, gender, or anything else.

The widow who gave all she had was closer to the realm of God than those who thought they were important-- not because she was poor, but because she did not give just a little, but everything--when no one would have blamed her for giving just a little, just the tithe that she was supposed to give. In contrast, the "important people," who had comfortable incomes, gave exactly their tithe, because that was what religious law called for.

The question about marriage after death--Jesus, in effect, says that the question is irrelevant. God is not concerned with what happens after you die, but what you while you are living. It can also be understood as meaning that your ancestors--Jacob, Moses, David-- are irrelevant; what matters is your own behaviour in the here and now. We are the living, and God is concerned with us, not with what our ancestors did or didn't do, or what exactly happens when we die--because we can't understand that yet anyway.

And so on--as I said, I won't go through all of them, but they reinforce ea h other and come to the same conclusion.

Taken together, all these discussions tell us that the realm of God, the kingdom of God, in the traditional phrase--is about God's people caring for each other, not recognizing human divisions, not keeping good things for themselves, but sharing God's good gifts with all their brothers and sisters in the world. It isn't easy, and the human world is not really well set-up to make that happen, or make it easy for people to do that. But it is what Jesus is calling for here. The person who asks him about the greatest commandment sees those goals clearly--but has not lived them out. And so Jesus says, "You are near to the realm of God."

As we continue to journey through Lent, this is our next challenge--how do we need to change our lives so that we are good stewards of what we have been given by God? How do we treat the people around us--friends, family, partners, co-workers? How do we treat the gifts we have been given by God? How do we treat this wonderful world? And--how do we treat ourselves, our bodies, our minds, our spirits? Do we care for all those--other people, the world, ourselves---as good stewards for God or as selfish tenants taking everything we can get without regard for others?

Recognizing that we are stewards is the first step. But not until we put that understanding into action do we approach God's realm.

In the week to come, I encourage us all examine our lives and recognize the ways in which we are not good stewards of the world, our neighbours, ourselves. What do we need to change to come closer to the realm of God?

In all God's many names, amen.

"Waiting" Advent 1C (December 2, 2012)

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Holy One, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; who shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “God is our righteousness.”

Luke 21:25-36

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Human One coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Then Jesus told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the realm of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Human One.”

Will you pray with me? Holy One, you make all things new. You bring about glad surprises and fulfill joyful hopes. Give us grace to recognise the signs of your presence among us, today, at Christmas, and always. In all your names, amen.

One of the most common complaints about Christmas that I hear is that the shopping season starts too early! It is out of hand, I think, when the stores have Halloween decorations and Christmas stockings up at the same time! When I go into DollaRama and see the stockings, even though my thoughts are more on pumpkins and candy corn, I know that Christmas is right around the corner. Those stockings (and candy, and trees and wrapping paper and ribbons and cards and…) are a sign of the coming of Christmas, as surely as the leaves on the fig tree are a sign of the coming of God’s realm.

There’s a difference, however. We know exactly when Christmas will come. Christmas Eve is December 24 and Christmas Day is the 25^th. Some people celebrate more on the 24^th and some on the 25^th, but those are the two days when we can count on it being Christmas.

Some things that we wait for are much less certain, although we know they will eventually arrive, like the next bus or the server with our dinner. Sometimes we don’t know if the things we are waiting for will ever show up—but we wait with hope--the partner we will spend the rest of our lives with, a cure and vaccine for HIV/AIDS.  

Waiting. It’s probably the hardest thing for me to do. I am not really a patient person. I want to do things now, and have results immediately. I have probably seen too many movies, with their editing of time so that it seems to take just ten minutes to bake a cake and two hours for a child to grow up. One of the books I am currently reading is about patience…how to cultivate it, how to cherish the moment that is, and have the faith and confidence that events will unfold exactly as they are meant to.

This is the task of Advent—waiting, with faithfulness, hope, love, and joy for the arrival of Emmanuel—God with us. It’s harder, in some ways, than the waiting of Lent, even though Advent is shorter. Advent mostly takes place in growing darkness—the days are getting shorter, until just before Christmas, so it is gloomy. Lent is in the spring, as the days grow longer and lighter, trees begin to bud and leaf out, tulips and daffodils begin to push up from the ground—it’s easy to see the hope and anticipate the joy.

It’s not as simple in December, is it? Besides the darkness and gloom, there’s the pressure modern culture has created around the holidays—Christmas and New Year’s. Everyone is supposed to have parties and go to parties, to dress nicely, to bake and cook (even if they usually don’t), to give the perfect gift to everyone, to get along with family they would prefer not to ever see, to generally live a perfect life for a couple weeks.

I enjoy parties as much as most people, I love Christmas cooking—as you can tell—I like to give people gifts they can enjoy and use…but somehow, I remember a difference when I was young, and certainly the holidays are described differently in the books of one and two hundred years ago.  I don’t mean only Dickens and his Christmas Carol, when Christmas was a family gathering, a big dinner, and games after—sort of like our Thanksgiving, with the addition of a church service. But when you read Jane Austen, for example, or the diaries of Samuel Pepys, or the laws regulating Christmas—there’s much more about food and drink and gatherings of family and friends, and very little about gifts or clothing. It seems people cooked a special meal—but not one beyond their means; and maybe added a new dress, or spruced up an old one; and rather than two weeks of parties and feasting, were considered lucky to have Christmas Day itself off.

I’m not saying we should go back to those days—those were also the days of no unions, of child labour, of no income support, of poor health for most people. But perhaps the attitude is one we could regain. Rather than a huge feast of things we aren’t sure we want to eat, with people we aren’t sure we want to be with, giving them things we aren’t sure they will like—perhaps we could gather with the ones we love, sharing a feast of simple good food, and gifts of meaning. And we wouldn’t have to change a thing, except our attitude.

Patience is a virtue, we are told. Perhaps if we could be more patient, allow each day to have its own message, we would find more in those days. If a day simply becomes one more to check off on the calendar in the rush to Christmas, we lose something—the grace and space of that day. Take each day on its own terms, including Christmas, knowing it will come in its time and offer its gifts. Take the time to immerse yourself in that day, to drink in its message and sense and feeling, before you move on to the next day.

An Advent calendar works that way. Each day, one window or door is opened; each day, one chocolate is revealed, or one small toy, or one picture or one Bible verse. You don’t get all the chocolates at once; you don’t get the whole story all at once. Bit by bit, over time, it is revealed.

That is, ideally, how to live this time of Advent. We know Christmas is coming. We can see the signs, like leaves on a fig tree. But we will wait for it patiently, knowing it will come in the fullness of time.

But Advent is also about preparation. Yes, we prepare our homes, we shop for gifts, we read the stories of John the Baptist and Mary and Joseph, we bake and cook…but we also prepare our hearts. When it comes down to it, we are preparing our hearts for that one day, for Christmas Day—when Christ was born, when our God came to earth and was born as one of us. As we wait, we prepare. We do not simply sit—we wait actively through our preparation. And it’s about more than the decorations, lovely as they are; it’s about more than the food, good as it is; it’s about more than the gifts, as touching or needed as they may be.

Think of Mary—she waits, and yet she is preparing, mentally and spiritually and physically, for this birth.

What are we waiting for in our lives, in the world? Some things are obvious—world peace, an end to hunger. Today, World AIDS Sunday, we lift up the wait for and the work towards a cure for HIV/AIDS.  We wait, but we do not sit idly while we wait. We support organisations that are working on vaccines and cure and treatments; we remember the ones we have lost—too many! We teach prevention and safer sex practices, we offer resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS. We do not simply wait for the answers to be handed to us on a platter.

Waiting. It’s difficult—few of us are as patient as we should be—but wait we must. But we can also act as we wait—prepare our hearts, our world, as we wait—for peace, for a cure for HIV/AIDS, for an end to hunger and poverty—for Christmas and the coming of the Christ child.  In all God’s names, amen.

"Life!" All Saints, November 4, 2012

Romans 6:1-11

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Eternal One, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

John 6:35-51

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that God gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent me. And this is the will of the One who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that God has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  This is indeed the will of God, that all who see the Human One and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” Then the religious leaders began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the One who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Holy One comes to me. Not that anyone has seen God except the one who is from God; he has seen the Eternal One. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

***

Will you pray with me? God of all times and all places, we turn to you in our grief, seeking comfort and peace. We long for the presence of those we loved, even though we know they were in pain or distress. Their wisdom, their love, their laughter are missed; there are so many things we wish we had said, or done, or been, and now we cannot do any of those things. Today we remember you are the author of life and that in spite of that, you experienced death too—the loss of friends, your earthly father, and others. Give us the wisdom to remember our loved ones with love and peace, to fold them into our hearts and face the future with courage; keeping their examples of love, humour, encouragement, and strength always in front of us. In all your many names, amen.

Today we are observing All Saints Day. Technically this falls on November 1, but we remember it today, as the Sunday closest to the 1^st. All Saints is the occasion to remember the saints in our lives—the friends and family members and mentors and heroes—who have died. “Saints,” not in the sense of officially recognised for miracles performed, but saints in that they lived lives of love and grace, they made a difference in our lives and in the lives of others. All Saints is an opportunity to remember those who have gone before, to give thanks for their lives, and then to rededicate ourselves to all that they worked for and represent.

I remember two people in particular: my stepfather, Ken, and a mentor, Dan. Ken married my mother when my sisters and I were grown—he had no part in actually raising us. There were more grandchildren than children at their wedding! And yet he treated the five of us—my four sisters and myself—as if we were his own children. Whether it was a family event, or Christmas gifts, or celebrating good news, or offering support—Ken saw no difference between us and his biological children. He loved Mom, he loved her daughters—he was proud of our achievements and supported us when life was difficult. Ken was not perfect—he was still mired in the 1950s in some ways, expecting Mom to do things for him that he could have done himself, or helped her with, such as housework and cooking. Their life tended to revolve around his plans and wishes. But he also offered Mom love and care and emotional support in many other ways; and he was kind and generous. Ken taught me a great deal about love.

Dan—Dan was a member of the congregation where I trained. He lived with a couple of chronic illnesses, but it took me a long time to realise that—he didn’t mention them. Dan was dedicated to the denomination, and especially to that congregation. He felt he owed the church a great deal, and was determined to support the church in any way possible. One of those ways that was dear to his heart was the encouragement and lifting up of leadership. I think it is safe to say that most if not all the pastors trained there while he was alive were affected by his guidance, suggestions, support and encouragement. He was no plaster saint either, however—he did not hesitate to call things as he saw him, and would stand up to the church hierarchy without hesitation. When Dan believed in you, he was your champion to the death. It was my honour that he believed in me. Dan did not know me when I first was associated with the training church.  A friend who had been through the ordination process there suggested I ask Dan to be on my advisory committee. The first time I preached there, I was approached after the service by a smiling gentleman with an unusual walking stick and told, “I was impressed by that sermon. I would like to be on your advisory committee.” It was Dan, of course—and my friend was right. Dan and I clicked and were friends immediately and for the rest of his too-short life—another five years. From Dan, I learned the power of standing up to even those you love and support when you feel they are wrong and of supporting those who are new but have potential—the power of mentoring.

And so I remember them—their love, their support, and the lessons they taught me about generosity, mentoring, courage, and caring.

I know all of us have had saints in our lives—not in the sense of perfect or near-perfect people, but in the sense of friends and family whom we loved, who taught us, or guided us, or simply loved us. And that is what today is about—the memories.

I don’t want us to be in the depths of grief. That is exactly what today is not about. It is not a time of continued grief, but of happy memories of those who have gone before—remembering my sister teaching me to read, my niece’s love of animals, my stepfather’s delight in my son—his grandson—and Dan’s wisdom and laughter.

Those are the memories to have—not to cling to, but to hold lightly. They are what makes us smile at a found photograph or try again when we think we can’t—the example of those we loved gives us the courage and hope and strength to try again.

The poet Henry Scott Holland said it well when he spoke of death as being like another room.

He said:

“Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped away
into the next room.

I am I,
and you are you;
whatever we were to each other,
that, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name,
speak to me in the easy way
which you always used,
put no difference in your tone,
wear no forced air
of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we shared together.
Let my name ever be
the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect,
without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all
that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?

I am waiting for you,
for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just around the corner.

All is well.”

Death as a room. Death, according to some people, is a new existence, a new way of being that we cannot comprehend, as a caterpillar cannot comprehend the life of a butterfly. Some will tell you death is the end; that death is nothingness. That I cannot believe—because we are more than our bodies, we are more than our skin and bones and breath. We humans are spirit and mind as well, and while the body may be gone, the spirit is not; the love and wisdom and courage are not gone. They are still here, in our memories.

Christians believe that the spirit does not die—that there is another life, another kind of life, beyond what we call death. There is more than this life we see and know—and it was Jesus who showed us the way. Because he lived and lives beyond death, we can too. 

I can’t describe that to you. Anything I might say about pearly gates and meadows of flowers—or of clouds or crystal fountains or circles of angels—would be equally false, Because no matter how excellent my imagination—or anyone else’s—we simply cannot begin to know what that new life is like.

Because we cannot know, it seems to me that we should focus on this life that we do know, rather than a new life that we will know nothing about until we enter it. We can and should be making this life the best life that we can, following the example of our saints. Did they have causes they believed in and worked for? Take up that cause or another one dear to your heart. Were they strong and courageous? Take heart and inspiration from their example. Were they loving and supportive? Remember that love and carry it forward to those you love. 

That is eternal life—to be remembered as someone who loved and cared and worked for the good of the world, through whatever means were available, whose example led you and others to be like them. 

So now you know, my friends, that you too can be saints. Your example of love and support and courage—or teaching someone to read or speaking out for truth and justice or just holding someone’s hand when they need it—can be that cherished memory for someone else. You may not think what you do makes much difference, but it does. People sometimes say to me, “The sermon on Easter (or Pride or three months ago) really spoke to me,” or “I was moved by the prayer at the flag raising,” or, “Your remarks at X event were really good.” I don’t necessarily remember what I said, and I usually don’t know why—unless the person tells me—why they were moved or touched by what I said. And I rarely hear it right afterwards—sometimes things take a while to sink in. But it did make a difference to someone, and so do the things that you do. You might not hear about it right away, but know that you do make a difference—people know when you are good to them, when you are working for change in the world, when you are a saint. 

Remember your saints—and go be a saint. In all God’s names, amen.