Forced to Communion
Friday, November 12, 2010 -- Week of Proper 27, Year Two
Charlies Simeon, Priest, 1836
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/
Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p 993)
Psalms 88 (morning) 91, 92 (evening)
Joel 2:28 - 3:8
James 1:16-27
Luke 16:1-9
The reading from Joel opens with a famous passage about God's pouring out the Holy Spirit on "all flesh." It is an exciting and encouraging prophesy. The early church interpreted the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and beyond as a fulfillment of what Joel had hoped.
And yet, the rest of the reading seem to imagine that the result of such renewal would be primarily for taking revenge. The prophet imagines reversing the injustices that Israel has suffered and imposing them on their enemies. Such is the stuff of vicious cycles of violence. The early church saw Jesus ending that vicious cycle by his obedience in suffering nonviolently, returning only forgiveness and resurrection.
In a way, the story of the dishonest steward is also a story of breaking the destructive cycle of a system of injustice, in this case an unjust economic system. I preached about that when this was our Sunday gospel a couple of months ago. (click for that sermon)
One last note. Some parents worry about requiring their children to go to church, to participate in communion with them whether the children want to or not. Many of us know stories of people who hated being forced to go to church and used their adult freedoms immediately to leave and never come back, adequately inoculated against religion.
The story of Charles Simeon bears some interest. In his day students at English Universities were required to attend church regularly and to receive communion at least once a year. Sometimes the requirement was an invitation to hypocrisy and cynicism. But for Simeon, it was formative and telling.
In preparing for his first communion, Simeon found himself depressed and discouraged by his reading of a popular devotional tract The Whole Duty of Man, which emphasized the necessity of one's obedience to the law for worthy reception of the Eucharist. But in the next year, he studied Bishop Thomas Wilson's Instructions for the Lord's Supper, and was inspired by the message that said our righteousness does not come from the law, but from the sacrifice of Christ that we recognize through faith. His experience of Holy Communion then was exhilarating and peaceful. It was the start of a significant ministry.
Last Wednesday we were just beginning communion at our child-oriented service in the Parish Hall. Linda Kelly was playing through the tune of the popular hymn I sing a song of the saints of God as our introduction before we began to sing. Little Collier Rawn was waiting for communion nearby, and he began to sing the hymn to himself -- he knew all the words. Earlier in the service, during the Prayers of the People, he had shared how a classmate of his had just returned to school after multiple surgeries, and he had invited our prayers for her. Collier is about seven or eight years old, I believe. I believe that there is something formative and transforming that is happening in him as he grows up steeped in the liturgy and traditions of the church, even though he is brought to church whether he wants to come or not.
There may come a day when he expresses his adult freedom by not going to church, but he'll always know the words to I sing a song of the saints of God -- and my hunch is that if he ever leaves, he's pretty likely to return home some time when the Spirit is again thirsty for the mystery of communion.
Charlies Simeon, Priest, 1836
To read about our daily commemorations, go to our Holy Women, Holy Men blog:
http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/holy-women-holy-men/
Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p 993)
Psalms 88 (morning) 91, 92 (evening)
Joel 2:28 - 3:8
James 1:16-27
Luke 16:1-9
The reading from Joel opens with a famous passage about God's pouring out the Holy Spirit on "all flesh." It is an exciting and encouraging prophesy. The early church interpreted the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and beyond as a fulfillment of what Joel had hoped.
And yet, the rest of the reading seem to imagine that the result of such renewal would be primarily for taking revenge. The prophet imagines reversing the injustices that Israel has suffered and imposing them on their enemies. Such is the stuff of vicious cycles of violence. The early church saw Jesus ending that vicious cycle by his obedience in suffering nonviolently, returning only forgiveness and resurrection.
In a way, the story of the dishonest steward is also a story of breaking the destructive cycle of a system of injustice, in this case an unjust economic system. I preached about that when this was our Sunday gospel a couple of months ago. (click for that sermon)
One last note. Some parents worry about requiring their children to go to church, to participate in communion with them whether the children want to or not. Many of us know stories of people who hated being forced to go to church and used their adult freedoms immediately to leave and never come back, adequately inoculated against religion.
The story of Charles Simeon bears some interest. In his day students at English Universities were required to attend church regularly and to receive communion at least once a year. Sometimes the requirement was an invitation to hypocrisy and cynicism. But for Simeon, it was formative and telling.
In preparing for his first communion, Simeon found himself depressed and discouraged by his reading of a popular devotional tract The Whole Duty of Man, which emphasized the necessity of one's obedience to the law for worthy reception of the Eucharist. But in the next year, he studied Bishop Thomas Wilson's Instructions for the Lord's Supper, and was inspired by the message that said our righteousness does not come from the law, but from the sacrifice of Christ that we recognize through faith. His experience of Holy Communion then was exhilarating and peaceful. It was the start of a significant ministry.
Last Wednesday we were just beginning communion at our child-oriented service in the Parish Hall. Linda Kelly was playing through the tune of the popular hymn I sing a song of the saints of God as our introduction before we began to sing. Little Collier Rawn was waiting for communion nearby, and he began to sing the hymn to himself -- he knew all the words. Earlier in the service, during the Prayers of the People, he had shared how a classmate of his had just returned to school after multiple surgeries, and he had invited our prayers for her. Collier is about seven or eight years old, I believe. I believe that there is something formative and transforming that is happening in him as he grows up steeped in the liturgy and traditions of the church, even though he is brought to church whether he wants to come or not.
There may come a day when he expresses his adult freedom by not going to church, but he'll always know the words to I sing a song of the saints of God -- and my hunch is that if he ever leaves, he's pretty likely to return home some time when the Spirit is again thirsty for the mystery of communion.
Lowell
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| The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love. See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org Our Rule of Life: We aspire to... worship weekly pray daily learn constantly serve joyfully live generously. Lowell Grisham, Rector St. Paul's Episcopal Church Fayetteville, Arkansas |
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