Listen to the sermon.
Hello, St. Hilda St. Patrick. It is both wonderful and difficult to stand here with you this morning. My heart is very full, and it is a good fullness of grace and gratitude.
On my first Sunday with you last September, I reflected on the fact that our time together would be relatively brief - and yet, God would be working in and through us to create something new. Our time together has been one full of unknowns, from how long it would be, to whether the ‘right’ vicar candidate would ever apply, to the transition of this farewell and welcoming a new priest and pastor into your life.
As we journeyed into these unknowns, we have continued doing the things we do as God’s people - praising God in worship, glorifying God in our everyday lives, and seeking to know God more deeply. Whether we realize it or not, we have weathered many small changes in the past 10 months - changes in liturgical seasons and styles, changes in where the announcements live in our service, additions to our community as new seekers have joined us.
In the midst of those changes, our life together in worship and community has remained focused on one certainty: God’s constant and abiding love for us. We know and share that love with and through one another, as we gather in worship, as we welcome new friends and neighbors, as we serve side by side, as we care for one another. We are blessed to have all that we need, already, to bear witness to God’s love.
Today’s scripture readings remind us that God is not only faithful to us, but full of mystery and grace.
In Proverbs, Wisdom witnesses loudly to all who pass by about her presence with God at the creation of the world. And, by implication, her on-going presence in every moment when God works something new in our lives. Which would be just about every moment of our lives.
The Psalmist echoes the breadth and depth and width of God’s presence in all creation - from the earth and fields, to the heavens and the seas, to the sheep and oxen and wild beasts, birds of the air and fish of the sea. All the world, by its very existence, proclaims the glory and majesty of its creator.
How and why does God continue to create and transform us and all creation? That’s the mystery. A mystery. Like the mystery of God’s grace, love and forgiveness offered without any strings. Or the mystery of how God’s Spirit inspires us and fills us with courage to try new things, make a new start, see challenges as opportunity for transformation and growth. The mystery of how love and justice and respect win hearts and minds forever so much more easily than the temporary reactions of fear and hate. Mystery. Or Spirit.
Jesus says the Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth. The only truth that God’s spirit consistently speaks is the truth of God’s unfailing love for us and for all creation. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to reassure his disciples that they will continue to know what to say to share the Good News and continue in the ministry he modeled for them, even after he leaves.
Our lives are full of transitions in relationships - times when we leave or people we love leave a relationship, by choice, by circumstance, or even by death. When we leave communities of friends and treasured companions on this journey of life and faith, it’s important to say a ‘good’ goodbye.
There are three key points to a ‘good’ good-bye, the kind of farewell you want to say to someone you love and respect:
- saying ‘thank you’ or expressing gratitude;
- offering and asking for forgiveness; and
- saying ‘I love you’ or expressing hope for the future.
Gratitude, forgiveness, and hope. These three parts of saying good-bye work for all kinds of farewells.
Sisters and brothers, I am so very grateful that God, through the mysterious work of the diocese, friends and clergy colleagues, called me to be your interim these last 10 months. It has been a joy to share in your life as a community, to worship and preach here in this beautiful space with God’s love and light reflected on your faces, and to walk with you through the ups and downs of life.
Thank you for welcoming me, and my family, into your life so easily. This has been a comfortable home for us, and we will treasure the friendships we have made here.
With you, I have learned about being a whole-hearted and part-time partner in ministry. I have discovered the strength of a small congregation where everyone takes a part in making sure the day to day ministry happens, where nearly every active member is just that - active - in worship and ministry. Your passion for welcoming every one of God’s beloved children into this community, and for serving your neighbors has been a good fit for my deep values around inclusion and social justice. And I am so glad that I will be able tell more friends about those strengths I have come to know and love. With you, I had the joy of baptizing new members into Christ’s body, of welcoming seekers in faith, of sharing God’s grace with you at the table every Sunday.
I know that our hearts and spirits have danced together well because, although we knew it would be a brief interim, I am sad to leave.
My gratitude for our short time together is deep and abiding. So, let’s move on to forgiveness.
Every relationship has expectations. Things we hope the other person will ask, know, do, be there for - even if we forget to actually tell the other person about these expectations. I know I have had unmet expectations of you, and I am quite sure you have had expectations I failed to meet. I am so sorry for all the ways I have disappointed you. If I have hurt you, I am sorry.
I believe we are created for love, and that life is too short to spend our precious energy holding onto anger or grudges. I have already forgiven you for any hurts you have caused me. Will you please forgive me for anything I have done that would prevent us from continuing on as beloved sisters and brothers?
Looking forward, I have a few wishes and hopes for you.
First, continue to trust God. We don’t need to be in control of everything. Jesus says be faithful in the small circumstances of our lives. Look for ways to be prayerful, to be just, to be peacemakers, to be less sure of the things that feed our egos - and more sure of God. Those small moments of gratitude and faith will be contrary to the ways of the world - and life-giving glimpses of joy that grow in our own lives. When we focus ourselves on God’s blessings, we honor our God, and we find our hearts more often turned toward serving others because God loves them.
Second, love your new rector. He brings different gifts than I have, and I know he is a wonderful priest. Love him and be gentle with him as he gets to know each of you. Nurture him and ask how you personally can support him, his ministry and his family.
Third, pray for one another. Pray for God’s continued guidance and inspiration for St. Hilda St. Patrick. Pray for your leaders, your pew-mates, for those who have not yet found St. Hilda St. Patrick as their faith home. Pray for healing, for grace, for forgiveness, and above all pray for the courage to actively bear witness to God’s love in the world.
And please pray for Julien, Esteban, Isabella and I. We, too, are entering into a time of transition that includes some unknowns. Pray for us to have a fun summer together, for grace to let God hold onto the stress of unknowns, and for a speedy revelation of the right next job.
My friends, we are here to love. To love one another, as God has loved us - and to turn that love into action. As we finish our ministries together, let us thank God for the beauty of all creation and the grace of new life, made known to us through God’s spirit of love and truth. And let us pray for open hearts and minds, for patience, that God will reveal the possibilities and resources for whatever it is that God has in mind for us all, and grant the courage to respond to that invitation when it comes.
Let us pray.
Holy Trinity, you are neither monarch nor monologue, but an eternal harmony of gift and response: through the Uncreated Word and the Spirit of Truth, include us and all creation in your extravagant love; through the Wisdom of God, who raises her voice to call us to life. Amen.
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