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St. Charles Episcopal Church - Saint Charles, IL

The Sixth Sunday of Easter - Easter 6 RCL Year A

Sunday, May 29, 2011 - Memorial Day Weekend

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 didn’t say anything last week, because it really was too much of a joke, but I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit it this week, in light of Paul’s visit to the Areopagus. Christianity kind of took it on the chin last week, thanks to a very vocal crack-pot who predicted that the world would end the Saturday before last. I know crack-pot isn’t a very pastoral term for a fellow Christian, but I am afraid it fits. In the Episcopal Church we are reminded that God gave us the gift of an amazing brain and we are encouraged, nay required, to make full use of it in the life of faith. I believe that is one of the big reasons why so many scientists have found a home in the Episcopal Church. It’s also the reason why I think the Episcopal Church has so much hope and faith to offer in this post modern pluralist society we live in. And because of all this, I think we should be acting more like Paul did in today’s lesson. 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 in Athens, 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 there are two things I can predict about Church today. One is that there will be a fewer than normal number of people in the pews because it is a holiday. And the other is that there will be a slightly higher chance for visitors, because more people visit during the holidays and sometimes they get invited to church. Since we have a slightly more intimate setting, what with fewer people attending, and, I hope, some new people visiting, I thought perhaps I might make an effort, like Paul, 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 one 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 will be enough. You will be keeping my commandments.

Do you remember earlier in the Gospel story when Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment, Jesus 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.” In all my study and all my life experience I have come to know that 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 had to learn some complicated truths. I learned that people often let you down, even the ones who love you. I learned that even when I try my best, 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 at the time. 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. I found a pure joy and wonder in discovering the intricate workings of the universe. For some, science is seen 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! For thousands and maybe even hundreds of thousands of years those treats lay hidden, like presents wrapped under a Christmas tree, waiting for the human mind to reveal them!

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. As Albert Einstein said, “Religion without Science is blind; Science without Religion is lame.”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.

Sadly, humanity has a rich and deep history of misappropriation. 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. Have you seen them popping up around St. Charles? It may not be what the artist intended, but I see them as signs of God’s redeeming grace, of the power of God to take whatever we offer and work good with it.

Well, that’s my story, what’s yours? Are you ready to share it? Are you ready to tell it? If not, then you have work to do. I’d get on that if I were you. Who knows, that crack-pot may have only been off by a year, or a month.... or a week. Amen.