Sermon for June 28, 2020 - The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 8A - The Ven Pat Zifcak
When I was young I went to church every Sunday with my mom and my sisters. It is where my faith journey began; it is where God took hold of me, although I didn’t know it then. What I knew was that church school mattered and the prayers we recited Sunday after Sunday in Morning Prayer kept me listening for the words I most especially loved. “The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.” “O come let us sing unto the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.” “O be joyful in the Lord all ye lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.” The Collect for Peace, The Collect for Grace, The General Thanksgiving, and The Prayer of St. Chrysostom. Now, since worshiping with the Sisters of St. Anne who host our diaconate formation weekends, I cannot hear the closing prayer, “Glory to God whose power working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine….” without hearing Sister Ana Clara’s voice.
But this is the power of worship; this is the power of prayer recited with those beside us, behind and in front of us. The words matter, the God to whom we pray is present with us. Corporate worship, even on zoom and Facebook, brings us into the presence of God and unites us in a common belief and practice.
Although the Episcopal Church rarely celebrates the Office of Morning Prayer at its principle service on Sunday, it is the service many of us grew up with and to return to it is a blessing for me.
On our final diaconate retreat of the year, Charles Hefling who is our companion and trusted source for all things Episcopal and beyond, had a lot to say about Morning Prayer. Here are the notes that might be of interest to you. Morning and Evening Prayer were said every Sunday and Christians were obligated to attend. Our duty was to pray to God. The duty of clergy was to pray on behalf of all adult Christians by reciting the daily office every day. When Holy Communion replaced Morning Prayer, that office became in a sense second best. Morning Prayer became the antecedent to Holy Communion and in some of our churches still Morning Prayer is recited before Communion instead of the Liturgy of the Word.
You may have already guessed that the daily office of Morning Prayer was and is monastic. In its shape of psalms and readings, it follows the form of synagogue worship. No priest was required and the office could be lay led. Perhaps we are grateful not to hear the reading of entire chapters of scripture and to recite two psalms as was the common practice!
What I learned that helped me to understand my deep connection to church in my childhood is that Morning Prayer, as Charles described it, is a “scripture delivery system”. We say and hear; we do not do. “Faith comes by hearing.”
Church School has always been important to me. When I see our children come to church and head for their classrooms with such enthusiasm, I am so grateful to all those here who make church school happen. The Director of my Church School was a man who met us at the door of the church every Sunday to welcome us to worship. He challenged us to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest parts of the Catechism, particular prayers, bible verses, and he made it fun by making a contest out of our learning which all of us could win if we wanted to try. For me then and even now although it is under better control, challenge me and I will do everything I can to meet the challenge. My effort then earned my very own bible. It was the King James Version and I treasure it. I was ten when I received it. The cover had to be replaced but the book plate was carefully reattached.
With challenges in mind, here is a quiz for you. There was a great man, a mighty warrior, a musician, a poet, a deeply loyal friend, a devoted lover of God, and a must and able king. At the same time, he was a liar, a cheat, a swindler, an adulterer, a cruel warlord, and a murderer. Do you know who he is? He placed family unity and integrity among his highest values, yet he stole another man’s wife. He was the greatest example of a broken human nature and a prime example of the fact that God often does God’s best work with the least promising raw materials. Do you know now? He is the child called by God to be king of Israel, the youngest son of Jesse, anointed by the prophet Samuel. His name is David. You can find the rest of the story in 2 Samuel 11 and following or wait and we will hear his story on another day but he is the subject of our psalm this morning.
God called David to be King of Israel and demonstrated God’s faithfulness and trust in him by entering into a covenant that God promised would last as long as the sun, moon, and sky remain. A covenant that promised that David’s house would rule forever and his throne endure for generations. As mighty as David was and as faithful as God is, David betrayed his relationship with God. All could have been lost and yet the psalm, the voice of the Hebrew people, doesn’t focus on David’s humiliation or broken promises. Instead, the people remind God of God’s steadfast love and divine faithfulness in which they have come to feel completely secure. They praise God for God’s fidelity and celebrate the divine election of David as King. David repents and God forgives.
In this moment, we are faced with decisions that will either honor our relationship with God or deny it. We are such fragile containers for God’s trust and love. Like David, we make promises we cannot seem to keep; we ask forgiveness without the intention to change our behavior. We say, “We will with God’s help” but don’t really expect to have to. In this moment, our spirits are bruised and our hearts are broken. Do we dare to sing a new song in a troubled land? We are the Church. We have a mission to bring good news to those who are suffering in a hostile world. We may doubt ourselves, we may be afraid but God is faithful. Remember David- sometimes God does God’s best work with the least promising raw material.
The Ven. Pat Zifcak