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Sunday November 5, 2006 - Proper 26, Year B

Yesterday
I had the privilege of joining with over 3000 other people
at the National Cathedral in Washington DC
for the investiture
of our new Presiding Bishop,
Katharine Jefferts Schori.
From the native American smudging ceremony that began the service
to the peals of bells that ended it,
it was a wonderful time of celebration.
The way our church works, is that every nine years, one of the bishops is elected by the other bishops to serve as a kind of senior bishop. The presiding bishop doesn't have a lot of power in legal terms, but has a huge amount of influence. They represent our church, and offer leadership to us.
In June, at the Episcopal Church's General Convention, Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was at the time Bishop of Nevada, was elected. It was a shock to many people. We hadn't expected a woman to be elected, especially not a women who has only been ordained about 12 years. Before her ordination, as you may have heard, she was an oceanographer; she also speaks Spanish and french fluently. She's an impressive person.

But yesterday, much of that was forgotten. There were more women clergy there that you might otherwise have expected, but once the service began,
we were swept up into the holy pageantry of it all.

It was a time when you could have expected the church to focus inwards. You know how it is with any celebration, the focus is always on the person being celebrated.
But in many ways, yesterday was unusual. Because while things began very much focused on Katharine, as the service progressed, the focus widened out. We were celebrating a new presiding bishop to serve our church, but more than that, we were celebrating a renewed call to be a church that serves our world.

That emphasis began with the insert for our bulletin today, which you'll also find in our newsletter. This is what our new Presiding Bishop wanted every person in the Episcopal Church to think about today — not the fuss that is being made over her,
but our calling to work for the good of the whole world, for those who are in need.

That focus was written all over the service yesterday. We heard readings and prayers in Spanish, Yoruba, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, and Arabic; we sang in Zulu and Spanish. All languages of people who have suffered; all welcomed in our church.

And the sermon, preached by our new Presiding Bishop,
focused on peace,
not peace as we usually think of it, peace as the absence of war, but peace in its biblical sense, peace that is shalom.
It's a vision of a world where, Katharine said, drawing on the words of Isaiah,
"where no one goes hungry because everyone is invited to a seat at the groaning board, it's a vision of a world where no one is sick or in prison because all sorts of disease have been healed, it's a vision of a world where every human being has the capacity to use every good gift that God has given, it is a vision of a world where no one enjoys abundance at the expense of another, it's a vision of a world where all enjoy Sabbath rest in the conscious presence of God. Shalom means that all human beings live together as siblings, at peace with one another and with God, and in right relationship with all of the rest of creation. It is that vision of the lion lying down with the lamb and the small child playing over the den of the adder, where the specter of death no longer holds sway. It is that vision to which Jesus points when he says, "today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." To say "shalom" is to know our own place and to invite and affirm the place of all of the rest of creation, once more at home in God."

It's about reaching out to those in need, those less fortunate than we are. It's the same sort of vision
that God offers to us
in the words of our psalm today.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith for ever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,

Our Presiding Bishop
calls us to work
for that kind of peace.

And in that,
she's echoing the decisions of our church at General Convention this June.
While the press were busy reporting about the tensions and divisions in the church, especially about sexuality, and about the election of our new Presiding Bishop, resolution after resolution came forward
that supported this vision of peace. Wherever you went
people were talking about the Millennium Development Goals,
the goals set by the United Nations
and adopted by our church,
to ensure that everyone in this world of ours
has a fighting chance at life.
• Eradicate the poverty that sends one-third of the world's people to bed
• hungry each night
• Ensure universal primary education for girls as well as boys
• Promote gender equality and women's empowerment
• Improve maternal health
• Reduce childhood mortality
• Prevent diseases such as AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis
• Ensure environmental sustainability (including clean water and adequate
• sanitation)
• Develop partnerships for development

They are practical goals, works of justice. But they have their roots
deep in our faith, in our scriptures
and in our tradition.
And we will be reminded of that tradition in a few minutes, when we all reaffirm our faith in the words of the baptismal covenant,
and especially the last two promises:
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people,
and respect the dignity of every human being?

Our church doesn't just exist for our own sake. Part of our mission, our calling, is to be people of faith, and to preserve the tradition of faith that has been handed down to us.
But the other part
is to exist for the sake of others, to work for the good of those in greatest need. To love others in practical ways, to reach out to our brothers and sisters around the world.

This week
is one time that we can do this in a practical way.
On Tuesday
we will go to vote. We will be asked to choose candidates
to take leadership in our communities and our country.
I won't tell you what to vote, but voting is one way
that we can keep those promises of the baptismal covenant. And so, before you vote, I'm asking you to look at the candidates and the positions they take on various issues. Ask yourself, are their positions ones that strive for justice and respect the dignity of every human being? Do they reflect a commitment to loving others? Do they provide for the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, strangers, widows, orphans?
Because those are the things
that God thinks are important

And the other thing I'm going to ask you, is that as we head into Christmas,
and search for gifts for all those people you love but really don't need anything,
consider buying a gift for someone in need. It might be a gift for a child in our community
or a donation to Unicef or Episcopal Relief and Development, or another agency that works to alleviate suffering.

These are just a couple of ideas. There are many other ways that we can live out our baptismal promises. It's up to you what you do — but whatever else happens in your life, please do something. Our world is in so much need.
Our church
— that means us —
can make a difference,
a difference
that might be the beginning
of shalom, the peace of God
for all people.

Sermon ©Raewynne J. Whiteley 2006