The Feast of the Presentation

A Sermon by the Ven. Richard I. Cluett

Luke 2:22-40

Mary and Joseph, now with the newborn baby named Jesus, travelled once again to Jerusalem, this time to perform the ritual purification required by the Law for a new mother. Although that could be done anywhere, the decision to make the long journey on foot to Jerusalem was made so that they could present this first-born son to God at the Temple in Jerusalem. It was the depth of their faith and their desire to honor both God and their child that strengthened them to make that rigorous journey.

As they arrive in the temple they see an old man on the steps of the temple, as if he was waiting for them, and the old man sees them – this young woman, her husband and the child. Simeon had been waiting most of his life to know that God would redeem Israel, that God would bring salvation to all people, and that God’s peace would reign in this world.

As he saw the family approach to present their child to God, God’s spirit moved in him and he moved forward to hold the child in his arms and to recite the words God’s Spirit had written on his heart.

 Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.

This child you present, this child is the One for whom we have waited so long. He will bring salvation, and reconciliation, and consolation, and the Peace of God into the life of the world and into the lives of all God’s people. And it will bring sorrow to his mother.

There is also an old woman, a prophet named Anna, praying day and night in the Temple who also saw and knew that this child being presented before God was the one who would bring redemption, the possibility of new life for God’s people, the child would bring it into the world.

And when all had been done according to the Law, Mary and Joseph took Jesus home. They walked the 60 miles from Jerusalem to their home in Nazareth in Galilee. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation, the presenting of Jesus before God, the dedication of Jesus to a life in God and to the Mission of God.

I ask each of you to take some time today and in the week ahead to think of the times when you have been presented to God or when you have presented yourself before God. At your birth did your parents quietly place you in the hands of God for protection and God’s Grace? At your baptism, you were presented before God and declared to be God’s beloved child – forever. At your confirmation, you stood before God on your own to declare yourself a disciple of God’s Son, Jesus the Christ – the one who had been presented to God in the Temple so long ago. At your marriage, if you were given that blessing, you presented yourself before God with your betrothed, seeking God’s blessing. And so many other times.

I call upon you, O Lord, in the morning, and in the evening I give you thanks for the day that is past. We present ourselves before God upon rising in the morning as God’s beloved child, and we seek God in the night watches when doubts and cares and fear assault us. We present ourselves before God when our hearts are overflowing with joy and thanksgiving.

Psalm 63: O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you…

We present ourselves before God today, Sunday, and many other days to receive God’s absolution for our sin, feeding and strengthening at God’s table, and the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the days ahead. And we also present one another and ourselves to God to mark important events on our life’s journey.

Today is such a Presentation day. Today two young people, Anna Wescoe and Julian Savage, (will) present themselves before God and God’s people. Surrounded by their parents and peers and priest and teachers and the assembled people of God, they come before God seeking for themselves God’s blessing as they mark their journey from childhood to adulthood. They will commit themselves to living according God’s way as shown to us in Jesus, and they ask for God’s presence in their lives all their days.

In their weekly prayer together with their Journey to Adulthood classmates, Julian and Anna pray seeking “to follow the example of Jesus, using their creative powers to shape the world according to God’s purpose, and they seek to be AWESOME”, as they live out their prayer. And their prayer is already answered, because they are indeed awesome in the sight and love of God and of those who know and love them.

It is also important to note that their priest, our dear dean Tony Pompa, on this Feast of the Presentation, 23 years ago, presented himself before God and the Church to be ordained a priest in Christ’s holy, catholic church. And God blessed him, ordained him, and empowered him to serve as priest. And the Church has been blessed with that ministry, for low these 23 years. So today we present him, too, to God with love, gratitude and thanksgiving.

So know this: presenting ourselves to God, standing before God, praying to God, living in God’s way as shown to us in Jesus – that is the fabric of our lives. God is woven in and under, and through and around all that we are and all that we do. We are ever and always before God. Never forgotten by God. Never rejected by God. Always sought by God. And in our living and in our doing, we are named as God’s child, we live as God’s beloved, we claim our heritage and our service as God’s people.

So in presenting ourselves before God, whether it be for service, or petition, or intercession, or for a sign, or for strength, or for wisdom, or for direction, or for pardon, we are already God’s beloved. There is no need to fear or tremble before Almighty God. The child presented so long ago in the Temple has prepared the way for us. God is waiting with a welcome. Indeed God is waiting with a welcome that one day will involve angels and archangels and all the host of heaven. We are not ready for that yet, but rest assured that when we do present ourselves before God that final time, it is Jesus who will stand with us, as His Spirit does now.

Sunday ~ January 19, 2014

The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa, Dean & Rector
The Cathedral Church of the Nativity
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

In the Spring months of 1993, Amy Biehl, a young American woman, a Fulbright Scholar, was killed by four black youth in South Africa.  Amy was there working on behalf of the cause of justice and working there with others to try to help end apartheid.  Caught up in the midst of what was the sinfulness of that oppressive system, a system dripping with sin based upon oppression and in justice and racial mistrust and hatred, Amy Biehl, a young idealistic woman, found herself killed. 

Some years later her parents, Linda and Peter Biehl, would find themselves with the opportunity to return to South Africa and to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in that country.  Let me remind you that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established by Nelson Mandela after the transfer of government, the power of government, and you will remember that our own Archbishop Desmond Tutu sat on that Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  You will remember that this Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established so that those of all races and those of all experiences of the dripping sin of the experience of living in apartheid South Africa could come to a place without fear of retribution and tell their truth.  Two of the four young men who took Amy Biehl’s life that day were appearing before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  Amy’s mother Linda writes about that experience this way.

“We took our strength in handling the situation directly from our daughter Amy.  She was intensely involved in South African politics.  And even though the violence leading up to free elections had caused her death, we did not want to say anything negative about South Africa’s journey to democracy.  Therefore in 1998, when the four men convicted of her murder applied for amnesty, we did not oppose it.  At the hearing, we shook hands with the families of the perpetrators.  Peter, my husband, spoke for both of us when he quoted from an editorial Amy had written for the Cape Times.  She wrote:  ‘The most important vehicle of reconciliation is open and honest dialogue.’  He continued, did Peter Biehl, before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, by saying:  ‘We are here to reconcile a human life which was taken without an opportunity for dialogue.  When we are finished with this process, we must move forward with linked arms. 

Linda Biehl continued in her sharing of that experience by saying this:

“I have come to believe passionately in restorative justice over and against punitive justice.  It’s what Desmond Tutu calls Ubuntu—to choose to forgive rather than demand retribution—a belief that my humanity is inextricably caught up in yours.”

One can only imagine or begin to imagine the grace that would need to take place for parents of a murdered child to say those words.  Mr. Easy Nofemela, one of those four black young men who had committed this crime against this family, wrote this of the experience before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

“Not until I met Linda and Peter Biehl did I understand that white people are human beings too.  I was a member of the APLA the armed wing of our resistance.  Our slogan was “one settler one bullet”.  At first I didn’t want to go to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to give my testimony.  I believed I was selling out.  But then I read in the press that Linda and Peter had said that it was not up to them to forgive, it was up to the people in South Africa to learn to forgive one another.  So I decided to go and tell our story and to reveal to them my remorse.  Amnesty was not my motivation.  I just wanted to ask for forgiveness.  I wanted to say in front of Linda and Peter face-to-face, I am sorry.  Can you forgive me?  I wanted to be free in my mind and in my body.  It must have been so painful for them to lose their daughter.  But by coming to South Africa and not to speak of recrimination but to speak of the pain of our countries’ struggle, they gave me back my freedom.”

You can read this story and many stories like this when you visit the website that is entitled “The Forgiveness Project”.  It is the website of an organization backed and supported by our own Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  It tells of the radical stories of people in real time and in real life and of their being able to find freedom, salvation through forgiveness and radical reconciliation.

Today in the Gospel according to John, we are invited into the drama and poetry that is John’s particular way of inviting us to come and meet this Jesus.  John the Baptist himself from the beginning has told us in the Scriptures that he himself has not come to be the light but to come to witness and testify to the light.  In our Scriptures today, John the baptizer accomplishes his task as the signpost—pointing clearly to this Jesus who in his revelation of who he is and what he is about would cause the train reaction of those who would dear draw near to his presence.  And, through their witness of him, would learn that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Lamb of God, the Messiah—the baptizer pointing the way to he himself who could only bring such a powerful word so that others might find the grace and the courage and the mercy even in situations dripping with sin to find a way toward freedom.  Freedom from hatred and from violence.  Freedom from discrimination.  And freedom from the hurts that we, when we are lost in that sinfulness, inflict on one another.  It is John the Baptizer who tells the tale of the Spirit descending upon Jesus, so that those who are near and could hear, particularly Andrew and Peter, who would come near to this Jesus and profess him as the anointed one, the Christ.  So much so that they would come to Jesus and say, “Where are you staying?”  In other words, can we abide with you?  And Jesus says to them, “Come and see.”  Come and see the light of the world.  Come and see the Lamb of God.  Come and see the teacher of the road less traveled.  Come and see the Christ.  The one who will set us free. 

It is most appropriate I believe on this weekend where in our society and our culture, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. and the work of those who dare to follow the dream that that individual found in his relationship in Jesus Christ.  And it is once again time to hear the good news.  That as followers of Jesus who are invited to come and see that we might find another way in the midst of darkness.  That we might find that the most powerful force in the world is love and forgiveness.  Some of you lived it—the Civil Rights Movement here.  As if we’re not still living it now.  Some of you live it.  Live the opportunity to find when you have dogs biting at your heels and the oppressor literally hosing you down into submission.  To find the grace and courage to rise up.  And, in peacefulness, as opposed to retribution and revenge, look for the path forward.

Imagine South Africa and its transition—not perfect.  In its transition without a truth and reconciliation commission.  Imagine that country and the hatred and the violence done to one another across racial lines.  Imagine it moving forward in retribution as opposed to in the spirit of reconciliation.  Imagine.  And isn’t it quite miraculous?  Isn’t it quite miraculous that it moved and moves the way that it has?

Martin Luther King, Jr. says, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that.”  John the Baptizer in the wilderness said, “I have come to testify to the light.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Hate cannot drive out hate.  Only love can do that.”  John the Baptizer said, “Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sins of the world.”  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Forgiveness is not an occasional act.  It is a constant attitude.”

It is the preacher’s task in all times and in all places when preaching the Gospel to ask the question and proclaim it, “What is the good news?”  Our good news is that in the light of the world, the Lamb of God, the Rabbi, our Teacher, the Son of God, the Anointed One, there is a powerful force.  And that force is forgiveness.  And reconciliation.  And, oh it is a road less traveled.  God knows it’s a road less traveled.

So I’m guessing somewhere along the way, that this good news for you may be experienced at different times and in different places and in different ways.  And that some of you may not, like our friends in the stories from South Africa or in the civil rights struggle, some of you may not have experienced quite the depth or the harshness of the sin that comes from abuse and from misuse of power.  But, I’m guessing some of you have.  But regardless s of your experience, my guess is that something is true for all of us this day.  That there is something out there or someone out there, or some experience of life either outside of ourselves or maybe even inside of ourselves that could stand a bit of saving.  That could stand a bit of liberation.  That could stand a little bit of forgiveness.  And could stand a little bit of reconciliation.  And so I’ve got good news for you.  Behold the Lamb of God.  Come and see.  Amen.

Sermon Second Sunday after Christmas- January 5

Second Sunday of Christmas January 5^th, 2014

The Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, PA

The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa

Good morning!  Happy New Year!  Happy Christmas!

We have celebrated much over these past weeks and days. Our crèche holds out story still of the babe lying in a manger full of promise and hope. Visitors assembled representing all of creation- parents, shepherds, Angels, = Animals of the field, Stars of the night- all bearing witness to this gift that God is bearing for us.

We have made our way to the end of our twelve day celebration of Christmastide,  from partridges in a pear tree, to calling doves, to pipers pipers and drummers drumming- our story now draws us toward Epiphany, which is actually tomorrow, and the story generously given to us today in our propers of those courageously adventurous wise “men” from the east who follow a star because their souls have been stirred to come and bear gifts to this nascent promise of salvation.

 Our primary actors in this story today are in the scriptures nameless! Who might they be? Visitors Matthew tells us, Magi! Though scholars throughout the years have tried to decipher just who these Magi might be, “magician’s, or Zoroastrian Priests, it seems a reasonable conclusion that these “wise men” of the East at the least dabbled in astrology, and capturing a glimpse of the skies find themselves on a journey toward something clearly compelling enough to warrant a plan of action.

Most importantly for Matthew’s Gospel, they are gentiles, and their recognition of this new born “King” tells us of God’s plan of salvation for all of the world and sets the stage for the drama that Matthew desires to tell of those within Israel struggling to accept the fullness of God’s Kingdom promise and God’s longing to shine a light of salvation for all of the world!

 Christian tradition would name them, Melchior, king of Persia, Gaspar, King of India, and Balthazar, King of Arabia! Their following of this star would lead them to the presence of a new King, unlike any they had ever encountered! They would bring gifts worthy of a King, Gold of course! Frankincense and Myrrh, fragrance and oil worthy for the anointing of a King!

Gifts- Worthy of giving- sharing- and building of a Kingdom.

And so is our punchline if you will as we enter the season of our story- the Season of Epiphany. Good news- it really is about the gifts- given to us and gifts we give to build the Kingdom.

THE EPIPHANY is God manifesting God’s light and goodness to us- his followers who have been given a gift in him to be received- and God’s manifesting light and goodness spread to the world through us by our sharing the gifts we have been given.

I have been to celebrations  a many this time of year and enjoy the ritual of exchanging gifts- this ritual rooted in the story really of these wise men bringing gifts in homage of the greatest gift. I love truthfully both the beauty seen in the givers heart of a thoughtful and meaningful carefully chosen gift given, and the joy and excitement that lights up the face of the recipient of such a gift.

There are those also who carefully and impeccably and beautifully wrap gifts and those (like myself) whose gifts sometimes are wrapped with more tape then should be allowed in order to make the “paper work”. Then there are those who enthusiastically and dramatically open gifts in short order, and those who impeccably remove wrapping as if not to disturb beauty.

In a new year whatever your temperament- wether you enthusiastically rip open with excitement a new chapter in your relationship with Jesus- the gift, or carefully unfold another beautifull crease in this gift that is yours and Christ’s- open the gift and receive it with joy.

Then again wether enthusiastically and even aggressively or carefully and intentionally do you “wrap” your own gifts of light and joy to the world does not matter- just (as Nike says) do it- offer it- and let Christ’s light Shine.

Sunday ~ November 17, 2013

Sunday ~ November 17, 2013

The Cathedral Church of the Nativity
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa

Luke 21:5-19

Abbey Dore was a Cistercian Abbey built in the golden valley near the Dore River in what is today Herfordshire in the U.K. The magnificent stones that would construct this grand physical plan began to be laid in 1147.  Over the next 100 years or so amazing structures would be built.  A refectory, Chapter house, a presbytery, two magnificent chapels each about twice the size of this Cathedral.  Transepts would spring forth from each side of these chapels, dormitories/cells for the Cistercian monks who would pray, live, and work here.

In its day it would tower above the farmlands and villages that surrounded it, standing tall in majesty, in promise of stability, security, and provide a home for sustenance, prayer, healing, wholeness, and sanctuary not just for the monks who lived there, but for the village residents who could see it from miles away.

Never would they imagine the view I had of it some few hundreds of years later.  The large rocks laying in ruin, scattered about in a distance. Enormous archways standing in ruin and in disarray giving just enough form to help one imagine the enormity of a once standing structure, or at least part of it.  And there also , thank goodness, a last standing structure, one of the chapels restored in the 1600’s where it continues as a parish church now.

One can only imagine if one would sit in that now much smaller enclosure the prayers said there, the hopes imagined there, the sanctuary found there, the sustenance taken in there by fields bearing fruit and vegetables, literal sustenance for so many.  One can only imagine generations looking at this majestic grandeur of stability and promise wondering what the future might hold for them and for that place.  And now, one looks upon it so many centuries later aware that those stones could only hold so long, that place fades away now laying in ruin. One sits and wonders in its presence now, what endures?

Jesus speaks dramatically to his disciples in our Gospel lesson today.  He speaks directly to them with a stark and startling message about how to live in a moment, what endures in time, and how to be in the midst of an uncertain future.

The life-size sermon illustration before the disciples’ eyes is the grand splendor and enormity of the Jewish Temple. A place that in its enormity and majesty spoke of permanence and stability.  Jesus message to the disciples, there are things about this Kingdom I have invited you to witness, that will call upon you to find endurance and resilience in things not seen. You see that temple, even that will fade away, and tumble down in a world that is sometimes difficult, if not brutal.  The things I have called you to are things that can and will unsettle some, and can threaten to loosen the foundation of many.

One can just feel the disciples uneasiness in this conversation as they ask, well when Jesus, when will all this happen?  Jesus seems less concerned with the when of uncertain futures and more concerned with the HOW will the disciples live in this turbulence brought on by faithful living into this Kingdom he speaks of.  You remember by the way that Kingdom, where the poor are lifted up and filled and the rich are sent away empty. Where the sick and untouchables are caressed and made whole, and where EVERYONE, not just the self-righteous, are considered to be precious Children of God!  How then, will you live in the reality of an uncertain and turbulent future? With trust in God that in challenging times there is opportunity to “testify” that is give narrative by word and example to God’s Kingdom. And by endurance…..for it is by enduring that one gains souls.

Today is a special day for the young people among us celebrating a ritual of their coming to a place in their spiritual, emotional, and physical maturity. Today our rite 13 celebrities come before this community of faith  and continue on a journey of faith toward adulthood. What can we say about their future?  What can we say about them? What can we say about their God?  We can say truly and honestly about their future that it is uncertain.  Unpredictable. WE can let them in on the secret that this will always be true really. That the future is just that really…unpredictable.  It was true at 7 true at 13 will be true at 21, 31, 46, 53, 75, you get the idea.  But we can also say to them that their future is solid, is full of hope, and will be as enduring and rich because God is going with them into this future. That means when times are good God delights, when times are challenging God will send light. We can say about them that if they lean heavily into the stuff they are made of, they will continue to discover at the end of every day that who they are ARE Beloved Children of God! And this is good stuff.  And finally what words do we have for them on this journey? Well today at least, Jesus words, be enduring on this journey.  Endurance means to weather the storms that come your way.  To keep at it even when something seeks to knock you off the path. I like the cousin of this word endurance.  Resilience.  Resilience means to come back into form. To find a strength deep inside that helps you thrive even and particularly in the midst of challenges.  Resilience means to find air to breathe and light to thrive!  Always.  Discovering the things that endure and grabbing on to them.

Sitting in among the ruins of Dore Abbey, a visitor can move inside the last existing structure. There one finds the fruits of a Christian community that still lives in that place and space.  A glance at the bulletin boards standing inside this ancient structure one with eyes of faith see the recognizable fruit of that Kingdom Jesus spoke to his disciples about so many many centuries ago.  Prayers you see are being said there still.  Healing for the sick is being administered there, Sanctuary for the longing souls of many is being provided for there, Sustenance, Food is being provided there for those who hunger.  Stones and fallen and lay in fields about that place. Wars have been in history there, famine, sickness, have taken its place throughout history, and the worlds powerful have fought for control of those lands……but what has endured…..Prayer….Healing….Sanctuary….Sustenance.