Sermon for the Twentieth Anniversary
of St. Luke’s Parish, Orange
Holy Communion
October 28, 2007
The Reverend Michael D. Fitzpatrick, Rector

Grace Church, REC, Collingdale, PA

Guest Preacher

 

 

For those Churches throughout the world which follow a traditional church calendar, today is the Feast (or the commemoration) of Saints Simon and Jude. For virtually all Christians, today commemorates the Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. On whatever day the Eucharist is celebrated, it is, among other things, a “memorial”: we “remember the Lord’s death until He comes.”

There are multiple layers of our remembering, but remembering is always what we do. And it is fitting today that we remember the twenty-year history of this parish, St. Luke’s.

Remembering is a particularly human thing. Animals have a certain factual memory, a memory of association. But as far as we know, it does not lead to meaning. Man, made in God’s image, has the capacity not only to remember facts and events and sensation, but to find meaning in them. It is a sad truth about our culture, that as modern man has abandoned God and despaired of finding meaning, so he has lost interest in history. This is true even among those whom we regard as educated. They have less and less interest in the past, since it seems not to matter to the present.

But we are different. As Christians, we believe and see meaning in the past. And as sons of God, we emulate our Father, who . . remembers.
A quick survey of the word “remember” in the Bible is wonderfully refreshing. We read such things as,

“Then God remembered Noah . . .”
“God remembered Abraham . . .”

And often,

“God remembered his covenant . . .”

And as God who remembers, He commands his people to remember, too. To the ancient Israelites, He says, regarding the laws and ceremonies,

“When your son asks you . . [‘What is the meaning of these?’] then you shall say, ‘We were slaves of Pharoah in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders . . . [and so on].’”

The were to rehearse -- to remember -- these events, because in them could be found the understanding of who they were as a people, of how it was that God had dealt with them in the past, and thus of who Jehovah is.

By the time we reach the New Testament epistles, the principle of remembering is everywhere. I think it is most notable in Peter’s second epistle. By the time he is writing this he is aware that his own time on earth is drawing to a close, and he is very concerned lest his readers forget the truths which have formed them. Listen to what he writes in the first chapter:

“I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you always in remembrance. . . Moreover I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.”

Now, he says here something very interesting. He says, “I am going to remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the present truth.” This is one of the principles of teaching, that much of the work consists of reminding. In the words, of Samuel Johnson, “Men need more often to be reminded than instructed.”

And listen to wise old Peter once more. After listing the Christian virtues, he writes:

“He that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

Notice the connection. The failure to practice these virtues is related to having forgotten what God has done AND to “seeing afar off” – that is, of considering the future.

Well, what is it that we are to remember? I suggest that we follow Peter a bit further.

First, we are to remember who we are. Peter is writing, he says, “to those who have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

He is writing to those who belong to this select company which includes the Apostles themselves. Peter, despite his apostolic calling, is very down to earth. The essence of what he is, we are. What is it that distinguishes us from the world? It is this very thing called faith. We have obtained it, through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And it is no different in essence from the faith of the Apostles. There may be greater faith or weaker faith, but faith is faith nonetheless. And hthe presence of faith makes all the difference in the world. “We are sons of God,” writes John, and with a twinkle in his eye, he adds, “and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.” BUT [he goes on], “We shall be like him.” Appearances notwithstanding, you who have obtained faith are the elite of the universe. It’s just that what you will eventually be has not yet been fully revealed.

This is of vital importance. It is the antidote to present depression and discouragement. This is true of us as individuals and it is also true of the church. I remember vividly and somewhat painfully the hopes and dreams which we [and I include myself here] have had for St. Luke’s. I do not believe that they were selfish in nature, but genuinely reflected our desire for the Gospel of Christ to go forward and the Church to grow, to the glory of God. And we know the history: wonderful hopes and opportunities, sometimes followed by bitter disappointments.

But in a sense it doesn’t matter. This parish is comprised of heaven’s royalty, of those who have obtained “like precious faith” with the Apostles, and it doesn’t yet appear what loveliness she may have in the eyes of our loving Father nor what glory shall be revealed in her before the watching world. God will reveal all in good time. It is ours first to remember who we are.

And further, we are to remember what God has done. Peter touches on this very briefly when he speaks of being “purged of old sins.” Well, how did that happen? The answer is that the beginning of that cleansing, that purging, goes all the way back to the Old Testament, as God prepares His people for the coming of the Redeemer. We see it fulfilled in the Gospel, the wonderful news of what God has finally accomplished for us through the person and work of Jesus Christ. But it goes even further. We tend to think of “the history of redemption” as if it were Bible history. It is much more. It includes history yet to come, as the Holy Spirit continues to work in the world and as redemption continues to be applied to sons and daughters yet unborn.

And it includes St. Luke’s, both past and future. We are to remember what God has done here. Not just the particulars which happen to come to mind. We are to look for meaning, to seek to understand what God has done through and among us. I will suggest a few things.

First, he has provided here a spiritual home for those who had found themselves, for whatever reason, in the wilderness. Do not underestimate this. The church has always been seen as an ark, a place of safety, a haven, and St. Luke’s has been this for many of you. Some of you can say, with the Psalmist,

“The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.”

And to provide this for the people of God is a high calling indeed.

Second, God has brought us through tough times, through “many dangers, toils, and snares.” St. Luke’s is a parish, which, by the human standards of reason, should have ceased to exist. It has been through too much, has taken too many hard knocks.

Some of us were reminiscing last evening. I can vividly remember when, as senior warden during St. Luke’s darkest days, I was on the phone with our Bishop. His question was, “Is there anything left there to salvage?” and, to my shame, I said, “I don’t think so.”

And yet God was not finished. Out of the ashes of this parish, God brought new life and a new beginning. At that time, God ministered to us in various ways, pouring oil on our wounds, binding up the brokenhearted, setting us on our way again. This is what God DOES and what He loves to do for His people, whom He will never leave not forsake.

And third, we must look at the ways in which God has made St. Luke’s fruitful. I leave out the countless ways in which this parish has ministered to individuals and families, but will mention only one curious thing. The number of men who have entered the ordained ministry or have re-gained their feet here at St. Luke’s is astounding. In my mind I have sometimes paraphrased the prophet Micah:

“But thou, St. Luke’s, though thou be little among the thousands of Christendom, yet out of thee shall he come forth many to declare the ruler in Israel.”

These are things we must remember: who we are, what God has done, and finally, our responsibility.

Our responsibility is not primarily to grow St. Luke’s. We simply cannot make that happen, although by being responsible stewards, in God’s time, it will happen. Our responsibility is to be faithful Christians in every opportunity which comes to us. And in the meantime, as Peter tells us, to diligently,

“Add to [our] faith, virtue,
To virtue, knowledge,
To knowledge, self-control,
To self-control, perseverance,
To perseverance, godliness,
To godliness, brotherly kindness,
To brotherly kindness, love.”

We are to remember these things. And if we do, Peter says, we shall never fall or stumble.

And then he gives us this tingling hope. Then “an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Do you hear this? Does this send tingles up your spine? This promise is what you were made for, and it may be yours, if you REMEMBER and are faithful.

-- Because God does not forget. Remember this verse tucked away in the middle of Hebrews?

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

God does not forget. WE do. He does not. And the glory of all this is that God will remember our service to him.

I take you to our Lord’s words in Matthew 25. You can almost see the righteous scratching their heads, when they ask,

“When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you?”

We can almost hear them thinking, “Oh, He’s made a mistake here; He’s got the wrong person.”

But no. The King answers, saying, “Inasmuch you did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me.”

I am convinced that these words will be applied to things we will have entirely forgotten. But God remembers. And to those who are his faithful servants, he will say, in words guaranteed to heal every old wound and scar,

“Well, done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

These are the words which our ears long to hear. And we will indeed hear them, if we remember who we are, what God has done, and what he has yet called us to be. Amen.

“Now unto him who is able to keep you from falling and to resent you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise god our Saviour be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”