A Leap of Faith

[Once a quarter, the Three Churches- San Rafael's three Episcopal parishes (St. Paul's, Church of the Nativity, and Church of the Redeemer)- do a sermon swap. The rector, vicar, or deacon from each church goes to another to preach. Here, Redeemer's Deacon preaches at St. Paul's.]

Redeemer at St. Paul's: A Leap of Faith
The Rev. Julie Jensen
Deacon, Church of the Redeemer
January 18, 2004
2 Epiphany - Year C

"Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms."

"You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God."

Redeemer's Canterbury Cross If there were ever any question about how and why the new "Three Churches" came into being, the proclamation from Isaiah clearly answers it. Our God has been the driving force from the very beginning. What is it that God is calling us to do in this new Incarnation? Why have we been selected to show a new way of working together in the Church? As we leap off the edge into a new way of thinking about church, we don't need a parachute because we are being held by the hand of God.

Our call in this new venture is to discover what CAN happen when that leap of faith is taken - not what separates us but what draws us together - we are being asked to think WAY outside the box. Our God did not call us to buildings but to the household of faith that can not be contained in a building. With a bit of a grin, I think of our houses in true Marin fashion. People around us speak of their primary home and then refer to the condo in the mountains and the beach house - one home is not enough! Again, in Marin fashion, we are surrounded by a bounteous and beautiful home, that landscape provided by God - it is ours to share and to love. Surely our beautiful land is the most important part of who we are in Marin.

We are not that far into a new century with new ways of thinking and communicating. At a Deanery meeting, the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe told the assembled delegates that THE way churches reach out to new people is on the Internet - the yellow pages come in second. Personally, I am not on the cutting edge of the computer generation- I STILL don't understand a blog - and I take all my questions to my sons who straighten me out and know way more than I do. We are living in a time that is ripe for change and for new ideas. We need to forget about boxes in our thinking.

Our beloved Gospel for today tells of Jesus' first miracle, changing water into wine. This story appears only in John's Gospel. What strikes me is that Jesus is caught unaware by his mother's request and tells her that it is not his time. He didn't set this up to show his powers. Undeterred, she tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. The details of the story are too sketchy to prove how the miracle occurred. Jesus did this, the first of his great signs and revealed his glory to his disciples. The sign was an opening through which God's work through Jesus was revealed. The importance was that it was showing God's glory.

Returning to the first premise: What is it that God is calling us to do? From the perspective of the congregation at Redeemer, I can tell you that new ideas are what the congregation is all about. Just 4 short years ago, the membership was so small that the Bishop was ready to close the doors. The services offered were good, true Episcopalian fare; but it wasn't enough. Some new thinking, prompted by what was happening at Holy Innocents- a Kids' Church- transformed the congregation. A big, yellow banner hangs over the door of the church inviting people to Kids' Church; and the sign on Pt. San Pedro Road also announces Kids' Church, for children and families. Two stalwarts at that service, Jack and Betty, celebrated their fiftieth anniversary this year - it isn't just for kids. The energy in that service, and the love shown among those attending is wonderful to see and to feel. The Bishop's Committee of 9 people is composed of 5 who have young kids at home and 4 who have been among those who kept the church going through thick and thin. The leadership is among the 40-somethings - unusual in many churches. Our Bishop's Committee was quite clear when it selected the Search Committee for a new vicar that one of the seven be a young person, and we have a willing and able eighth grade boy serving.

In part because of the advent of Kids' Church, the thrust at Redeemer is toward the young people, again unusual in many churches. Our kids begin as acolytes in the third grade. The big fundraiser is a fall Kids' Karnival that draws people from the community and is beginning to draw from other areas. We usually pick up a few new members after each Karnival which is an outreach to the community. Families of those attending Redeemer Preschool often begin to call Redeemer their church home.

With all this, what is God calling us to do? Why is God calling us to continue to grow and to change? Our nice, little church has much to offer while, at the same time, there is much more that can happen when more people are involved. The parents of the youth are quite excited about the idea of a combined youth group. What we have in loyalty and in energy, we lack in numbers. AND, most know that kids in the middle school, high school age group really like numbers! Youth groups of 3-6 kids just don't work.

More than just change at Redeemer, God is calling us all into a new way of thinking. It is no coincidence that one of our readings for today is from First Corinthians. The letters to the people in Corinth are very specific about what it means to be a new church in the first century. Talk about breaking new ground. This church really didn't have much in the way of examples on how to build a church, although that may have helped them become creative thinkers and not have stifled their thinking.

What they knew was that they were a holy, elect community and were Christ's body in the world. As new converts they were filled with boundless enthusiasm. What Paul was writing to the people in Corinth as part of a continuing correspondence is as fresh today as it was then. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." We, too, are a holy, elect community that is filled with so many gifts. How blessed we are that not everyone in the three churches is alike! How much we have to give one another! How blessed we are that we have received by God's grace, the Holy Spirit. We, as the Corinthians, have a variety of gifts but one Spirit. It is that Spirit that guides us when we read, "You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." It is God working in us through the Holy Spirit that energizes us to reach for new horizons. God is our guide as we show to the Diocese and the rest of the Episcopal Church how God's people are coming together in new and exciting ways!

AMEN.

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