ASC Sermons :: June 17, 2007

The Charge
Preacher: Al Zadig, Jr. (Last Sermon)

June 17, 2007, Father's Day

Deuteronomy 34:1-9
1 Corinthians 3:5-11
John 14:18-27

HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS.
TAKE OUR LIPS AND SPEAK THROUGH THEM,
OUR MINDS AND THINK THROUGH THEM,
AND TAKE OUR HEARTS, AND SET THEM ON FIRE.

Her name is Ashlyn,
a happy child, eager and energetic…
best laugh in the world.
A girl who goes fearlessly headfirst into everything….
but ASHLYN is only one of 50 people in the world with a genetic condition unable to feel pain…
she can feel touch and be tickled, but she cannot sense pain or extreme temperatures.
SOME MIGHT SAY WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT? Sounds like a great way to live!
HER PARENTS in response shake their heads and simply recap all the stories…

HER PARENTS NOW SAY WE WOULD GIVE ANYTHING--ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING--FOR ASHLYN TO FEEL PAIN.
Pain is that way of staying in touch with who we are and what we are going through.
MY FRIENDS, AS I STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY, MY LAST SERMON AS YOUR RECTOR…
I STAND WITH A TREMENDOUS feeling of PAIN IN MY HEART,
PAIN THAT IN SOME WAYS I would love not to feel...
A PAIN THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT, A PAIN THAT IS EXHAUSTING…
but it’s not a pain born out of any negativity, it isn’t a bad pain,
it is a pain born from love.
The pain of saying goodbye to a people whom I adore, whom I love.
Someone once said the higher the love, the higher the pain.
As I look at each of you, I see and hear those things we’ve experienced together,
roads we’ve been down together in my 5 years as your rector.

One can’t go through experiences like those born of love without experiencing at this transition a great deal of heart pain…
there is simply too much love and the bonding is too tight.
I can’t tell you how many times over the last several weeks,
I’ve been driving down Connecticut Avenue on my way to a meeting or a lunch,
and behind the wheel just breaking down in tears…
I AM SO GRATEFUL TO EACH OF YOU AND THE LOVE YOU HAVE SHOWN IN RETURN…
and the ministry we have shared together in Jesus name.
The more we love, the greater the pain in transition.
But lest these thoughts become too heavy…i think of the lighthearted times we’ve had together!
One of my first Fall Festivals where, with great glee, people lined up to dunk the Senior Warden and Rector in the dunking booth…
you know who you are.
Or, one of my favorites…
Many of you remember Fr. Layne, a former Assistant Priest here…
as the story goes, because doing laundry was SO expensive in his apartment complex,
he and Tamara thought it best to do their laundry here at the church IN THE WASHER AND DRYER DOWNSTAIRS...
So, one day, Tamara gives Layne a load of sheets, towels and other garments.
Layne had intended to put the load of laundry in before a meeting,
but was running late so he put the load into a pile in the hallway to be put in later.
Well, because we are so fastidiously clean around here,
someone thought that, oh, what a great donation to the Thrift Shop!
So, they brought the clothes into the Thrift Shop.
Then someone in the Thrift Shop said, "Oh, what great clothes and sheets--Laura Ashley sheets even!"
And so they washed, dried and put them all on sale, complete with price tags!
Fr. Layne, meanwhile, at the end of his meeting searches frantically for his wash load.
At the end of the day, he finally goes into the Thrift Shop where, to his horror,
he sees his own boxer shorts on sale complete with price tags…
but the sheets and towels…ALREADY OUT THE DOOR, sold.
You will be happy to know that at the next vestry meeting we took up an offering for new sheets and towels!
Another memory sticking out in my mind...
The night the rectory turned into a rocket ship.
It was shortly after Christmas, and I was doing something i knew i shouldn’t do---
which was to put wrapping paper in a burning fireplace; I just love the woosh sound it makes.
Well, on this night, a major woosh was heard,
followed by big knocks from up on high in the chimney…
As I was trying not to hear those sounds,
a member of the youth group comes knocking on the door..
excuse me Fr. Al, but i think your chimney is on fire.
Sure enough, I run out into the freezing cold and the rectory honestly looks like a reverse rocket ship…
flames pouring out of the chimney, with burning paper flying out AND through the neighborhood…
the two of us just stood there frozen in time, jaws open, praying like mad…
I can promise you that that episode taught that youth group member more about prayer than any sermon could have!
Speaking of sermons…
you not only put up with all my bad jokes, but also the seasonal allusions to the Red Sox and Patriots!
Yes, it’s why saying goodbye is so difficult, so many more stories I want to experience with you!
It’s also why saying goodbye the right way is so important...
saying goodbye in ways that allow relationships to continue and flourish!
I heard it said that 98% of all the people in institutions for the emotionally disturbed are there because they fouled up either saying hello or goodbye.
We can tell a lot about each other when we go through the pain of goodbyes.
In fact, our gospel passage for this morning is Jesus giving one of His last words to His people…
IT’S CALLED THE FAREWELL DISCOURSE…
Jesus, saying goodbye TO A BUNCH OF INCREDIBLY DISTRAUGHT DISCIPLES….
DISCIPLES WHO COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY JESUS HAD TO LEAVE.
THEY THEMSELVES ARE EXPRIENCING FEAR ABOUT WHAT WOULD COME NEXT…
AND JESUS BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE FOR THEM FEELS GREAT HEART PAIN.
IT PROVES HOW, IN ADDITION TO BEING DIVINE, HUMAN JESUS IS…
Knowing his own heart break and those hearts breaking around him,
He says, "LIVE INTO MY PROMISE. BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AS ORPHANS …
DON’T BE AFRAID."
REMEMBER, THE MOST OFTEN REPEATED PHRASE IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE IS:
"FEAR NOT," MENTIONED OVER 500 TIMES!
"DON’T BE AFRAID, I WILL COME TO YOU…"
I DON’T KNOW IF YOU HAVE EVER WOKEN UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, OVERCOME BY ANXIETY, AND CRUSHING FEAR.
IF YOU HAVE, DON’T THESE WORDS TAKE ON THAT MUCH MORE OF A POWERFUL MEANING?
IT MEANS THAT IF WE ARE WORRYING, IF WE ARE OVERCOME BY OUR PAIN, THEN WE HAVE TO ASK... WHERE IS JESUS IN ALL THIS?
And He’s there quietly whispering…
"DON’T LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED, DO NOT BE AFRAID."
ARE YOU COMFORTED BY THAT MY FRIENDS?
Don’t let your hearts be troubled.
Here is the 2nd piece…
Now, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT IF JESUS JUST LEFT IT THERE…
IF HE JUST SAID "BE COMFORTED," PERIOD…
BUT HE DOESN’T.
IN FACT, NOTICE WHAT JESUS DOES NOT SAY AFTER THOSE WORDS OF COMFORT.
JESUS DOESN’T SAY…
"UPON MY DEPARTURE, SIT AROUND AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO HOPE!"
He doesn't say,
" UPON MY DEPARTURE, take time off and go church shopping… and then see who comes in my name…and if YOU APPROVE then commit yourself to me…"
NO!
Now it's been said that the preacher exists to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Jesus here says "GET BUSY!"
THE BEST WAY OUT OF PAIN AFTER STOPPING AT THE STATION OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND PRAYER IS TO GIVE OF YOURSELF WITHOUT RESERVE!
JESUS SAYS, "WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS MY TEACHING, HE IS THE ONE WHO TRULY LOVES ME!"
AND DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT THOSE COMMANDS ARE?
"LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL AND BODY…
AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF!"
JESUS IS SAYING TO LOVE HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING!
C.S. LEWIS QUOTES A FRIEND WHO SAYS WE CAN SOMETIMES REGARD GOD AS A FIGHTER PILOT REGARDS HIS PARACHUTE…
IT’S THERE FOR EMERGENCIES BUT HOPES HE NEVER HAS TO USE IT!
In our reading today from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes:
"I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and now someone else will be building on it... and the only foundation we can build is the foundation of Jesus the Christ!"
THIS ACTION means believing that Jesus is who He said He is!
IT MEANS changing our lives to fit Him instead of changing God to fit our lives!
NOT LONG AGO ON A YOUTH RETREAT HERE, THE YOUTH WERE ASKED…
"ARE YOU MORE OF A THERMOMETER OR THERMOSTAT?
A THERMOMETER, WHERE YOU’RE SIMPLY REFLECTING THE TEMPERATURE,
OR A THERMOSTAT, where you determine the TEMPERATURE?"
i.e. "DO YOU LIVE SIMPLY REFLECTING CULTURE, OR ARE YOU HELPING TO DETERMINE THE DIRECTION OF CULTURE?"
Over the last 5 years, it has been the burden of my heart to continue making the name of Jesus known here with clarity and joy!
IT HAS BEEN A BURDEN ON MY HEART TO SEE ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH AS A THERMOSTAT, AND NOT AS A THERMOMETER…
AND, YES, WE FAIL ON THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN,
BUT TRY TO LIVE OUT our vision statement,
"To know the Christ and make Him known,"
IN A WORLD DESPARATELY NEEDING ANOTHER DIRECTION IN WHICH TO GO!
All Saints’ as an affecter of gospel change!!!
And it begins with you!
i.e. Fathers, on this fathers day,
are you GETTING INTO THE HEARTS OF YOUR CHILDREN SETTING A TONE FOR JESUS, or just following the crowd?
Parents of these wonderful Petrocelli triplets,
are you going to be parents who set the Jesus centered-LIFE for them,
or will you FOLLOW THE CROWD?
WILL YOUR FAITH BRING YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK TO WORSHIP?
BUT THE OTHER PART OF THAT COMMANDMENT IS
TO LOVE OTHERS AS CHRIST LOVES US.
i.e. ENTERING INTO THE PAIN OF OTHERS,
CARRYING OUT THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO THEM AND THE WORLD!
To love means to involve yourself in the lives of others!
LIVING INTO the pain that others might be going through TO GIVE THEM JESUS!
C.S. LEWIS SAID THAT PAIN IS GOD’S MEGAPHONE TO ROUSE A DEAF WORLD!
OUT OF YOUR LOVE FOR CHRIST, ARE YOU WILLING TO ENTER INTO THE PAIN OF OTHERS?
At lunch a couple of days ago, a woman asked me, " Why do you wear that black shirt every day?"
And I always quote Johnny Cash, who said,
"I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Til things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black."

LIVING INTO the pain that others might be going through means loving those you thought to be completely unlovable…

Jesus never wants us to mask that pain in ourselves or in others,
but to face it directly and receive power to change ourselves and others through the Holy Spirit.
At the end of the day, MY FRIENDS, if we are waiting to do ministry FOR ANY REASON…
WAITING UNTIL THE PAIN, WHATEVER IT IS, GOES AWAY…
OR WAITING UNTIL YOUR CHILDREN ARE OLDER…
OR WAITING FOR THE NEXT RECTOR…
then we really are in a mess!
No, I love the symbolism of baptizing triplets today, a symbol of moving forward, a symbol of new life!
Don’t let your hearts be troubled…
be a thermostat...
love the lord your God with all of your heart, your neighbor as yourself…
feel the pain my friends…

I REMEMBER SO WELL FEELING THAT ANGST TOWARD THE END OF SEMINARY…

IT WAS GETTING LATE IN THE SEASON AND WE STILL DIDN’T KNOW WHICH CHURCH WE WERE GOING TO BE CALLED TO …

I CALLED BISHOP SALMON AND SAID, "WHAT SHOULD I BE THINKING ABOUT, WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING?"

AND HE SAID, "AL, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT JUST ONE THING…JUST ONE THING…"

AND IN HIS MISSISSIPPI DRAWL CONTINUED, "I WANT YOU TO BE THINKING ABOUT…

"I will not leave you fatherless!"

"Don’t let your hearts be troubled, do not be afraid!"

ENTER INTO THE LIVES AND PAIN OF OTHERS…look up…

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE CHRIST….

(slow light fade…and spot lights onto the crucifix... Anne Gordon and choir sings…)