St. Charles’ Episcopal Churc – St. Charles, IL

The Sixth Sunday of Easter – Easter 6 – Year A RCL

Sunday April 27, 2008 – Bring a Friend to Church Day

Acts 17:22-31 – Psalm 66:7-18 – 1 Peter 3:13-22 – John 14:15-21

Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Americans, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. Well... sort of. I have of late, been following the culture war between the proponents of the theory of evolution and the proponents of Creationism....or do you say the proponents of Darwinism and the proponents of intelligent design.

This debate has heated up again with the release of a new documentary by Ben Stein called, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.” I haven’t seen the movie yet, so you’ll have to wait for a review, but I have been impressed by the guerrilla marketing plan. Perhaps impressed isn’t the right word. Buried would be a better word. It is being heavily peddled to churches. From what I am able to glean, the leaning of the documentary is toward pro-intelligent design, and the assumption of the marketers is that the churches, being pro-God themselves, will send their people, thereby earning Ben Stein money.

As most of you know, I was a pharmacist for 14 years before entering the priesthood. This puts me in the special position of having a foot in both camps, so to speak. I must say that I am happy to report that the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, shares this bipedal characteristic with me, and so she too has had some illuminating comments in this area. Now right about now I can hear the evangelism chair in my head saying, “What in the world are you talking about politics for on Bring a Friend to Church Sunday?”

 Well, let me explain. I’m not talking about politics, I’m talking about life and I’m talking about faith. Paul waded into the market place to talk with philosophers about his faith. When they pressed him, he went to the Areopagus, the great place of philosophical debate, to defend that faith. I think we should all be prepared to do the same. As the letter of Peter says, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” As I write this sermon I have no idea how many new friends will be in church. Of course, when it gets right down to it, I never know how many new friends will be in church on a given Sunday. However, since we are making a special effort to invite friends today, I thought perhaps I might make an effort to defend the hope that is in me.“Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.”

I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t an Episcopalian. The church has buried my grandparents and baptized my children. It has taught me much of what I know about God, but I must remind you of what you know already. Knowing about God, and knowing God are two very different things. As much as I love our church, there are two things that I know to be true that would supercede that love. One is that my love for God is even greater, and the other is that God’s love for me and for you is even greater still. In Sunday school I learned that God is love. To a child that is simple and easy to remember. As an adult I am constantly amazed at the simple mystery of that statement. God is love.

In our Gospel this morning Jesus tells his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If one is not careful you might take this statement as some kind of extortion. “If you really loved me you would buy me a diamond!” That’s not the way Jesus works. That’s not what Jesus means. Jesus says, If you love me that’s enough. You will be keeping my commandments. When asked earlier what was the most important commandment he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” It sure seems to me like love is pretty important to God. It is the first best gift that God gives us, and the only thing that God asks in return.

As a child, love is easy. It’s as you grow up that love gets more complicated. Well, love doesn’t really get any more complicated. The truth is that we get more complicated. As I grew up I learned some complicated truths. I learned that people let you down, even the ones who love you. I learned that I’m not always as good as I want to be. I learned that there are times when it feels like even God has deserted me. And most of all I learned that God loves me through it all, even when it feels like God isn’t there. As I continued to grow I also learned about science, the field of study that seeks to describe how and what happens in the universe, and the scientific method, a process of discernment used to describe how things happen and to help predict what will happen in the future. For some, they see science as a substitute for God, or an attempt to limit God’s action or even refute the existence of God. For me, science has always been a tool to more accurately describe the miracle of God’s creation. For example, when God created the hydrogen bond, did God know that this bond would give water the peculiar property of becoming less dense when it freezes and thereby giving rise the winter treats of ice skating and snowballs? Of course God did! Does knowing about how the hydrogen bond works take away any of the joy or wonder of making that first snowman with your son? Not for me. I have lived with both science and faith in my life for quite some time and I find them to be quite complementary. I really don’t know what all the fuss is about. Faith and science are two different tools I use to get through my life. I would go so far as to say that both are essential, at least to me, and I commend them both to you.

Science gets me through the physical side of life and faith gets me through the spiritual side. They are both connected, indeed woven together, but still they are separate. When we confuse the two, or misappropriate their use is when the trouble starts. And misappropriation we humans have learned to do well. When faith attempts to masquerade as science we get the gobbledygook that is intelligent design. And when science takes on the attributes of faith we get the dangerous “science” of Eugenics, the idea that humanity could be perfected by a policy of selective breeding. We humans have an amazing propensity for making messes of all kinds. I thank God daily that God loves us so much and has the power and desire to redeem our messes, like those sculptors that take all our garbage and with creativity and hot glue and solder, turn them into wonderful works of art. I am so glad we don’t have to fix it.

If you’re here today because you have a mess in your life, small or big, you’re in the right place. If this is your first time here or your last time here, you’re in the right place. If you are here to share your joy or to share your pain, you’re in the right place. If you are here looking for God, or looking for peace, or just looking for a friend, you’re in the right place. And if you haven’t the foggiest idea why you’re here, you’re in the right place too, because God knows why you’re here and that’s good enough for me. Welcome to God’s house. We’re really glad you’re here. Look around. Make yourself at home. We’re all doing our best to be the giving, loving people God wants us to be. We’ll make mistakes, sure, but we’ll keep trying because God loves us. And God loves you too. I know it sounds sappy, but it’s true. Love is like that! Amen.