An interesting and difficult gospel lesson for this morning… As we get closer to Advent, we begin to hear themes about the end of times… Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple by Rome but it does not symbolize the end times are coming just yet. There is much more that must happen first, and no one will know the time or place of his second coming. Buildings are not what is important; rather faithfulness and proclamation of the kingdom is what is important.
I think I have told the story of the church that I was ordained from, but I will tell the short version because it seems important to do so…. Our lovely little church, St. David’s San Diego where we worshiped, where many were baptized and married from, was burned to the ground by an arsonist… the Sunday after the fire, we worshiped together in the parish hall where we would worship for many years to come with our altar on wheels… anyway, a friend of mine sang a song that she wrote for the offertory…. It was a song about the pain of having a brother who suffered from schizophrenia… a brother who often chose to live on the streets because he was afraid of the systems that were in place to hopefully protect him… As we gathered that day, it was clear to us that church buildings were not the reason we came together. We came together as a church community to love and to worship God and to support and care for one another. When our new rector was in place, long before we were able to build a new building, she said over and over again, “We don’t go to church, we are the church”….
The church, as my priest and mentor said, is not simply about buildings… It’s about people, it’s about coming together as a community to worship and to support each other, and to bring the message of salvation and good news beyond our gathered community.
Institutions, like buildings, do not always stand the test of time or the test of need and desire. I am sure that today there are a variety of thoughts about this past week’s election… but here’s the thing; no matter how it turned out, there would be people who would be unhappy, and perhaps even afraid for a variety of reasons. And, we know that candidates often do not keep the promises they made once they were elected. I don’t want to talk about candidates or platforms or parties. Those of us who voted did so for our own good reasons… However, no matter who we voted for, no matter what political party we claim… it’s all in support of the empire. That means that none of us is innocent of the crimes committed by the empire in our name. Drones are still going to kill innocent children in Afghanistan or other parts of the world… homeless people will still be on the streets… Jesus warns us over and over again that Empire and Kingdom are not the same thing…Even the temple was involved with the Roman empire which is why Jesus kept getting into so much trouble with the religious leaders of his time.
You and I live in the Empire. No way around it. And for good or ill, sometimes we have to depend on the Empire. As the mother of a disabled child, I have to tell you, that is not a pleasant or reassuring thought because the Empire only has one interest… and that is promoting its own well being…
But, you and I don’t just go to church; we are the church; we are a community of believers who through the covenant of baptism are called to be bearers of the kingdom for all people. No matter what institutions are in place, much like the physical temple, or my church in San Diego, those structures will never be the answers that the people of God need, and they may never produce the answers that people desperately need. You and I are the feet and hands of Jesus in the world; you and I have taken sacred vows to respect the dignity of every human being… We are the church, not just gathered here in this building, but we are the church acting in the world, right in the middle of the empire. Our allegiance is not to a flag; or a political party; or to a country… As great as the United States is, God is not a force for us to manipulate for our use; God bless America means nothing if God is not also blessing Iraq, Somalia, Syria, and Mexico. Being the church, being bearers of the Kingdom means that we are part of something much bigger than the media or any politician would have us believe. And make no mistake beloved; the Empire is not being kind right now to those who are least of these. When we participate in the values of the Empire, the least of these suffer. When we participate in the values of the Empire… we participate in systems of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia… It is the very nature of Empire.
But we are called to something else. We are called to be disciples of Jesus whose whole ministry was based on love; the love of God and the love of all our neighbors… not just the neighbor who looks like us, but especially the neighbor who is afraid… the neighbor who is different… Buildings and institutions will come and go… but love endures, love is forever… and being disciples of the God of love, the God who IS love, means that we take actions in love. The love of Jesus isn’t just a thing we feel… it’s a thing we do. Let’s remember that Jesus washed the feet of the disciple who betrayed him… the disciple who placed the Empire above the Kingdom… because love was too difficult a task for him. It asks us to go places we might not really want to go. It asks us to go beyond what we think is right, and reach further… and Jesus warns his disciples, including us, that it’s hard and that we might even die as a result of loving another…
We don’t just go to church…. We are the church… We are the church inside this building and more importantly in the world we engage. People are afraid… They are afraid because of what they see and what they have been told… our response as the church is not to say, “get over it, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” So long as there is an Empire beloved, there will be things to fear, no matter who you are. We must all search our hearts and ask forgiveness for our own participation in the values of the Empire that cause fear and answer those values with love… love that gives everything for God’s children…
This is our time to shine, church. This is our time to show what it means to be a disciple. This is the time for “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It won’t be easy, but it is the work we have promised to do. Leave the institutions behind. They will fall, and they will fail. This day and every day, may we love God… may we love our neighbors… if we pray and worship and open ourselves to the Spirit within us… we will be given what we need. So rise up church… be bearers of the kingdom… be hope, be light… be the love of God… do not simply go to church… be the church wherever the church is called to be.