December 3, 2006
The Ven Richard I Cluett
Jeremiah 33:14-16 + 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 + Luke 21:25-36
I was struck last Sunday by the phrase, “The Power of One”. Canon Kitch ended her wonderful reflection last week by reminding us about the difference ONE can make; be it one person, one family, one household, one clan, one tribe, one nation, one congregation, one denomination, one faith tradition, one God. The difference ONE can make, the Power of One.
We continue this week with that very important point, that very important theme, that very important truth. There is Power in One. There is power in each and every one. Power to be used in the work of creation, power to be used in the reweaving of the fabric of the world, power to be used in seeing to the well-being of the anawim, the poor of the land – this land, and the land across the seas. The Power of One. The power in one.
One person pushed back the veil that seems to separate the holy and mundane. One person repaired the breach that had existed between the Creator and the creation. One person began the process of redemption that continues through this very day and will never end until redemption is complete. One person began the work of reconciliation of one to another. One person inaugurated the reign of God. One person makes it possible to live in this world, to live through this life, with purpose, with integrity, with compassion, with love. One person, the Power of One.
Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Son of God, Jesus the Savior of the world, Jesus the Savior of each one of us, Jesus who was and is and is to come. Jesus who is One and equal in the Trinity we call God. Jesus, the Power of One.
We most often think of Jesus, I think, as the One who was and the One who is to come. Neglecting a very important truth, a very important Jesus, the One who is.
Theologian N. T. Wright suggests that the "reappearing" of Jesus might be a better phrase than “the second coming” -- and one that was used by some early Christians. Wright says "(Jesus) is, at the moment, present with us, but hidden behind that invisible veil which keeps heaven and earth apart, and which we pierce in those moments, such as prayer, the sacraments, the reading of scriptures, and our work with the poor, when the veil seems particularly thin.
But one day the veil will be lifted; earth and heaven will be one: Jesus will be personally present, and every knee shall bow at his name; creation will be renewed; the dead will be raised; and God's new world will at last be (fully) in place, full of new prospects and possibilities." (Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense p. 219)
Celtic spirituality speaks of the “thin places”, holy places like Iona and Lindesfarne and Clonmacnoise and Glendolaugh where our J2A pilgrims went last summer. Places where when you step onto the ground you know you should take off your shoes. Places where the veil between this world, our life, and its Creator and Redeemer and Sustainer is very thin indeed.
What does it take? Do we need to rehearse again the litany of work waiting to be done, waiting to be begun, waiting for some-One to begin? Do we need to reread, rename the accounts of the evil in the world that leads to suffering, conflict, violence, and death, such things as the holocausts of our time, the AIDS epidemic in Africa and now in India and China, nine-eleven and the constant threat of attack we know in this country as well as it is known around the world, or the untimely death of a friend or loved one by accident or disease.
The monthly news magazine from Trinity Church, Wall Street has on its cover the word, eschatology noun.
1. The theological study of end times.
2. A difficult word to pronounce.
3. Hope that really matters.
If the Eschaton looks to, promises an end to all, evil, what would living in such a world be like? How do we capture glimpses of that world today? What does Kingdom life look like? How do we relate to one another -- not just fellow cathedral members, but yes, fellow members of this cathedral household, how do we relate to one another? How do we relate to the children of God around the world?
I have read that it is highly unlikely that any individual or congregation will change the world. I don’t buy that. I don’t believe that. It is a crock and it is a copout.
There was a time during my tenure as the Archdeacon of Bethlehem when there was no mission outside of this diocese, No care expressed for the evangelization of the world or the living conditions of people in the slums of the world. There was nothing.
Then one day my telephone rang and on the other end was a woman by the name of Connie Fegley, who said, “Rick, do you know what’s going on in Sudan? We have to do something!” And My God, what has been done since surpasses one’s imagination.
One can make a difference in the lives of one or two or, perhaps, a dozen people, or perhaps a village, or perhaps a congregation of people, or perhaps a family of people, or perhaps a diocese of people. We can relieve some suffering. We can offer glimpses of the coming Kingdom.
Some examples right here and right now? The Thanksgiving baskets provided families by families of the cathedral and delivered by our teenagers; the Christmas presents being sought, assembled, and delivered by our teenagers; the ministry of one Joel Atkinson who simply be his presence on the street declares the presence and the compassion of the one named Jesus.
What we are to be about in this time, in our time, before the end-time, is making every place we touch a “thin place”, demonstrating to every person we encounter that the Reign of God is begun. We have been given the power to do that. Empowered by the One who was and is and is to come to exercise the Power of One. To bring Hope that really matters.
It is time to be about that business.
