Holy Encounter in a Diner
November 15, 2018
Unexpected Holy EncountersThis is a time of year when it is easy to feel overwhelmed. In Church work, as in every other kind of vocation, there seems to be no lack of something left undone, many things to do. Yet even calendars to be filled with important tasks can, in themselves, become reminders of God's grace and providence.The other morning, Robert and I joined two clergy colleagues at breakfast at a diner. At some point, I excused myself, and as I passed two people at a table, the man stopped me. "Excuse me. But is that a Franklin Planner you have there?" (It lay on the table next to my breakfast.) Surprised, I said "Yes." He said, "I didn't think they made those anymore." I replied, "Oh yes, they still sell them. It's just that you can only get them online now. Franklin Covey closed all of their stores."Practical Conversation changes to a God OneSomehow, this conversation turned into a God conversation. I told them I am a pastor, and before long, we three were exchanging our concerns, our hopes, our ideas, for how we might tell and show the Gospel to people who have never come to church, or people who have been wounded by the Church, or young adults whose parents "checked out" of Church years ago, so they have had no faith formation at all. As it turns out, the woman at that table is from New York City. She said she attends First Corinthian Baptist Church there.
So in the midst of a breakfast with colleagues, I got to talk with two colleagues in Christ whom I have never met before, and who I may never see again--all over a very secular symbol of a Day Planner that helps me to organize my days, weeks, and months.Of course I had to come home and google the First Corinthian Baptist Church. This is a church in Harlem. Their leaders are dedicated "to making disciples that transform the world." I like that. It's very clear what that community of faith is about. It is about making new disciples for Jesus Christ. It is about transforming the world. Big goals. Goals that begin locally and then ripple outward.Would anyone miss St. Philip's if it were gone?
On a cold, unexpectedly snowy day before Thanksgiving, I wonder if it is clear to our local community what St. Philip's goals are. If our doors closed and locked permanently tomorrow, would anyone in Laurel or Jessup or Savage or Ellicott City or Columbia miss us?You might answer me by saying, "Yes, because we do a lot of outreach." Yes, we do. Yet I wonder if the folks for whom, and with whom, we feed people at Elizabeth House, or through the LARS pantry, or at our annual Thanksgiving Dinner, or during our week of Winter Shelter, know the underlying reasons we do those good works? Do you?St. Philip's is a community that does good. However, there are many local organizations that do good works. What makes us different than a women's group, or a business group, or a community organization?Gospel ImperativeWhat makes us different is that all we say and do is out of GOSPEL IMPERATIVE. We follow Jesus of Nazareth. He commanded us to love God and to love each other--not with some sappy, silly emotion, but with "love as strong as death," as the Song of Songs defines love. "Many waters cannot quench love," that writer tells us (note: you may remember our own Presiding Bishop Michael Curry using that passage this past summer in his sermon at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.)Jesus told us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to visit those in prison, to care for widows, orphans, and the ones thrown to the edges of society. And in the New Testament book of James, this letter echoes the ethical teaching found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. James reminds us that our works show our Christian faith in real time, in real ways, and our works reflect our beliefs to people around us. That does not mean we preach at people. No.Winter Shelter
In fact, your rector and other good lay people have pushed back against some of our local Christian pastors about how we host Winter Shelter. Rather than to openly preach to our guests about Jesus and salvation, we focus on offering deep, radical hospitality to people who would freeze to death out in a tent in the woods before Home Depot. Homeless men who stay in our shelter like the fact that we treat them with dignity and respect. We understand that some of the guests have mental issues; therefore, we set firm behavioral guidelines for them (no weapons, no drugs, no fighting, no bringing in their friends at the last minute, etc.). Yet many homeless guests are just working poor. They have been forced to "couch-surf" with family and friends and finally worn out their welcome. They may live in a car. Yet the lay people who stay overnight with them at our St. Philip's shelter have to wake many of our guests up very early. They have jobs--at hospitals, or at Carmax--or they have to take several buses to get to their jobs--hence, the very early wake-up call. And once they have showered and eaten a hot dinner, they go straight to bed on their cots--grateful for a hot shower, a hot meal, and a warm place to sleep.As Christians, we are called to use our various gifts and talents. Yet one gift that we all have is the ability to welcome someone in the name of Jesus. To offer food, to sit and have a conversation with a person, to find out his/her name and to ask what they do, what their hobbies might be, etc. Maybe we are just uncomfortable because many of us, too, are only one or two paychecks away from being homeless.So we don't have to preach the good news of God's love with just words. We preach the good news with our very lives. With our open arms, with our hearts, with bringing sugary cereals or hard-boiled eggs or clean socks and underwear, to people who who have hit hard times in extreme ways.
Preaching the Gospel with our livesSt. Francis is said to have said, "Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words." This is not just a cute saying. These words tell you and me that what we do--our actions--speak so much louder than anything we might say.Just as I had an unexpected holy encounter with two strangers on Monday at breakfast, I suspect you might have holy encounters in other ways. Think about how, during this busy time of year, you might give the biggest and best gift of all: yourself. This community of faith will offer many chances for you to do that.Make a difference--not just in someone else's life, but in yours. Do something brave and courageous and offer yourself this season. You might find that you are the one transformed. And you just might grow deeper in your Christian faith. Blessings to you, Sheila+