Without Love

7 Epiphany, February 24, 2019

St John’s, Newtonville, Massachusetts

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

We have platitudes for when we don’t understand something, especially when suffering is involved. For instance, we say. “This is my cross to bear.” Or “God has a reason for this happening to me.” Or we say, “This was part of God’s plan.” Such was Joseph’s reframing of his brothers’ betrayal of him. Because of jealousy, rivalry, and envy, his brothers had sold him into slavery to merchants returning to Egypt. For years, Joseph would work for the enemy of his own people. And yet, Joseph said that this was all part of God’s plan, not only for Joseph but also for his family.

When we live in hostile territory, we must be careful. We learn when to speak up and when to be silent; we decide who we can trust and who we should fear. Joseph, in his wisdom and over time, had managed to gain the trust of the Pharaoh and move from a position of slavery to a high level of administration in the Egyptian government. Depending upon God for guidance through dream interpretation, Joseph had predicted years of famine in Egypt, and so he prepared the Egyptians for their future by collecting food for everyone, and storing it in national barns.

Two years into the famine, Joseph’s brothers suddenly arrive from their own country, seeking to buy food from this foreign government. With dismay, they find that their brother Joseph is in charge of food distribution and sales. They were so fearful about him taking revenge on them for their past behavior that they could not speak in his presence. They could not even answer his simple question, “Is my father still alive?”

There is another common phrase that people will use when someone does something hateful. “Where’s the love?” we ask. A parishioner once confessed to me his discouragement because he had not heard the word ‘love’ in the first 6 months of their new priest’s sermons. In fact, all he heard was a message of judgment, exclusion, and condemnation. And yet, today’s collect reminds us that our Lord teaches us that ‘without love’ whatever we do is worth nothing. Which begs the question for me. What does life look like without love?

I recently finished reading a book called “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah. It’s an historical fiction novel that tells the story of two sisters who struggle to survive the German occupation of France during World War 2. Emotionally destroyed by his military service in World War 1, their father had returned to his family a changed man. Light seemed to have gone out of his life, and despite the best loving efforts of his wife and two girls, he sank into an existence of despair. When his wife died, he shipped the girls off to live with a stranger. Bereft over the loss of their mother, and feeling abandoned and unloved by their father, each girl responded to the German occupation in very different ways.

The story of the Jewish people and people’s responses to them, like our own shameful history with slavery, is a story that cannot be forgotten so that history cannot be repeated. Just this past week in France, swastikas appeared on Jewish tombstones and business storefronts. We all know how people are complicit with systems and powers that are greater than us. We all know that unhealthy dynamics are at play when people are fearful. We all know that some people benefit from certain privileges while others are oppressed by them. We all know about prejudice, abuse, oppression, and hate - don’t we?

Fear and anxiety are especially prevalent during unsettled times; and there are many techniques that we use for survival. Some of us join the enemy, judging and condemning people who are different from us. Perhaps, like Joseph’s brothers, we “go silent” for fear of judgment, condemnation, and retaliation. We may have feelings of guilt when we try to protect ourselves at the expense of others. Some of us feel powerless and do nothing, while others go “underground” actively but secretly resisting the enemy, providing safe places to preserve life, and helping others to find new life.

Denial is not a river in Egypt, as they say, but rather a very human response to particularly painful situations; and fantasy is its twin sister. We imagine the “what-ifs.” What if we no longer had Jews or Muslims, conservatives or liberals, Donald Trump or Nancy Pelosi, guns or drugs, immigrants or native Americans? What if we had a society where everyone was the same, and we all agreed, wouldn’t our world be so much better? How do we preserve life when when we’re fighting battles in our courts and behind closed doors, through social media and public policy, when the enemy has many faces and various allegiances. We raise our flags and bend our knees, protesting and supporting this one nation under God in very different ways, and hot spots are everywhere. We never know who the enemy is. And so I wonder, “Where is the love?” “And does God have a plan for us all?” Friends and foe alike.

I recently lead a vestry retreat for another parish in Massachusetts, in which we focussed on their identity and vocation. I asked them to break into two small groups and look at the seven “I am” statements spoken by Jesus in the gospel of John. Pick only two of them that most represent your identity as a church, I said, and then let’s talk. No one chose the statement that Jesus made when he said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” “Why?” I asked.  And I learned that they only heard it at funerals and so it reminded them only of death.

Last week, we heard St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, write, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” Today, St. Paul writes about the resurrection of the dead using the metaphor of a seed. We can plant seeds of hate and seeds of love, both of which grow in the dark, and often start underground. Both need light. Hate needs the light of day to die; and Love needs the light of day to grow.

I don’t like to think of myself as having many enemies, but I do, simply by the fact that I am an American. I also confess that there have been times when I have “hated” people and counted them as my enemy. I have responded in fearful ways, and said those things and done those things that I wished I had not. As we move from the season of Epiphany into Lent over the next few weeks together, it’s a good time for us to reflect. What light can we shine into those dark places of our lives? What light will help the seeds of love to grow. And what plan does God have for you and me? 
Joseph claimed that God sent Joseph into Egypt for a reason: to preserve life. So too did God send Jesus to be among us: to show us the Way of Love. “Listen,” he said. “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Yes, life is complicated and love is not easy, and yet “when we know that we are loved, we will quite naturally love in return,” said Brother David from SSJE.

We are a people who can tell the story about God’s Love, how we receive it and how we can share it. We are a people of faith, with the hope of resurrection and new life, because Jesus has shown us the Way. We know that there is enough hate in our lives to make the world go round; for the seeds of hate are very real. And yet, "I have decided to stick with love,” said Martin Luther King Jr. “Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Or, as our Presiding Bishop is fond of saying, “We are the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement, and if it’s not about love then it’s not about God.”

Love is not always about chocolate and red roses, sweetness and light. It endures all things, believes all things, and hopes all things even when war is raging in our hearts, in our country, and throughout our world. Our churches are intended to be sanctuaries, safe places for people who are on the journey from birth to death, from our earthly home to a spiritual one. Our churches are intended to be sanctuaries where all people are welcome, all people belong, all people are accepted because together we reveal the beauty, diversity, and unity of God’s creation. Made in God’s image, from dust to dust, we are preserved now and forever in Christ Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life.

The Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, once wrote “Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.” (Love and Living, 1965) As members of this Christian community, receive God’s love today, and then share God’s love with others wherever we go, for “the measure we give is the measure we get back,” said Jesus.

God has a plan for you and me. To forgive and preserve life like Joseph. To shine light in darkness like Martin Luther King Jr. And to be seeds of Love like Jesus; for without love, whatever we do is worth nothing.

Genesis 45:3-11, 15
1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50
Luke 6:27-38
Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42

Catching People

Trinity Episcopal Church, Melrose, Massachusetts

The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

Isaiah 6:1-8

1 Corinthians 15: 1-11

Luke 5: 1-11

Psalm 138

250 years after the death of the martyrs in Nagasaki, when Japan was again opened up to trade and commerce with the West, there were discovered families who carried on vestiges of the Christian faith. Without the support of an institution called ‘church’; without contact with Christians outside of Japan, there were Japanese families who had continued to baptise their children and to pass on the rudiments of the faith. Today we give thanks - not so much for their deaths, but for their faith and for the faith which they passed on to future generations. May we all have such a faith.
Br. James Koester, SSJE, February 5, 2019

            There seems to be a lot of emphasis these days on “catching people.” For instance, some people brag about how many Twitter followers, Instagram, or FaceBook friends they have. Insurance companies offer clever advertisements promising to protect us from hard times. Business people market their brands and make promises about their products, how they will improve our health and increase our wealth, and even extend our lives. Our churches do the same things. We try this new service or that one, appeal to this group of people or another, analyze the demographics and follow the trends. We put on friendly faces and offer benefits, all in an effort to bump our numbers, and catch more people, because Jesus invites us to do that, right? Sometimes I wonder, is it all in vain?

            My husband, Paul, likes to fish on the waters off Cape Cod. He’s always on the hunt for the right place, the right time, and the best tides in order to catch fish. He talks to friends who are commercial fishermen to find out “where the fish are” and how best to catch them. There have been times when his hooks have come up frustratingly empty, and other times when he couldn’t reel them in fast enough. In times of scarcity, Paul has tried new lures, brighter colors, and live bait.

The landscape has changed as well. With warming water temperatures, along with protective government regulations, Paul has seen more seals and sharks than ever before. Whales, once far off, have come near. Once, with a friend named Bruce, who is a commercial fisherman, he went tuna fishing in deeper waters. He was stunned by the beauty of this fish, impressed by its battle to break free, and yet he couldn’t catch and release it. This fish was part of Bruce’s income, and sold to local markets as well as international brokers, as good food for many people.

            Fishing during the time of Jesus in Palestine was a common occupation. According to author John J. Pilch in The Cultural Dictionary of the Bible, “fishing at the Sea of Galilee became a government-regulated activity that involved catching, preparing, and distributing the fish.” The boats that they used were a little smaller than Bruce’s boat: 26.5 feet long, 7.5 feet wide, and 4.5 feet deep. Like our churches in this diocese, James and John were partners with Simon and part of a local fishing syndicate located in Galilee. They, like Bruce, sold their fish for income.

There are a variety of techniques for catching fish. According to Pilch, “Sometimes fishermen used lines with fish hooks whereas the corporations would use the sweep-net for fishing in deep waters and the dragnet for surface fishing or fishing from the shore.” Ever at the mercy of brokers who capitalized them, 1st century Mediterranean fishermen had no control over their activities because of storms, or unfavorable conditions, and were nearly always in debt.” (p188) And so, like Bruce and many people in our churches, they often had more than one vocation and many skills to survive.

Then here comes Jesus, presumably a local carpenter turned rabbi, and tells Simon Peter how to fish. It would be like me telling Bruce how to fish in the waters off Cape Cod, or telling you how to be the church in Melrose. No wonder Simon initially responded as he did. Perhaps with a heavy sigh, maybe even an eye roll or two, he graciously said to Jesus, “Look we’ve been doing this all night, but if you say so, we’ll give it another try.” I can’t help but draw analogies between these fishing vocations and our churches today, and while I’m making some comparisons, I invite you to continue to do that work on your own as well.

Like Simon Peter, sometimes we’re tired after doing things repeatedly and getting no results. With nets that keep coming up empty, we’re ready to quit. Our numbers aren’t changing; indeed we’ve spent years trying to shift a trajectory from down to up, from scarcity to abundance, from poverty to wealth and we’re ready to call it a night. Larger forces weigh us down; and then suddenly someone appears and says, “Put out (again!) into the deep water and let down your nets.” 

Angrily, we may want to throw in our towels and say, “You do it then!” Or we may cast a wandering eye for a simple solution, a new community, or a different leader. In our dry seasons, and we all have them, we look for new fishing grounds where our nets will be full and we have, as the saying goes, “No worries!” In gospel story after gospel story, however, Jesus repeatedly invites people not to give up, to push out a little farther, and to fish a little deeper.

During such dry seasons in Palestine it was not uncommon for preachers and teachers to roam about trying to catch people. And so, after teaching the crowds on the shore, Jesus invited James, John, and Simon to catch people with him. Does this mean that Jesus is suggesting that we quit our day jobs to follow Him? No. Or leave our current vocations to become teachers or preachers? No. Does this story mean that if we obey Jesus that our nets will suddenly become full and we will have no worries? No. Rather, I think this story is about Jesus inviting us into deeper relationships with God. And sharing our stories.

Jesus’ message about “catching people” was not one of quick fixes or simple solutions; for he knew that transforming lives, and making changes involves long and hard work. His gospel message is not about how to accumulate more people in the pews or balance our bottom lines. Rather Jesus invites us to listen to the word of God, to keep on fishing, and to walk the Way of the cross with hIm. Follow Him by imitation. Follow Him on the journey.

People in the crowds were pressing in on Jesus because they wanted to hear the word of God. Especially when times are hard, we want to believe that there is something more, something greater, and something deeper than just the superficial realities of our lives and in the world. When we’re tired, Jesus gives rest to the weary. When we’re running on empty, Jesus fills our spiritual nets. When we are afraid, Jesus tells us to have faith, not in material things, but in God.

When we’re “catching people” we know where our true treasure lies. We seek first the kingdom of God, knowing that all else will be given unto us. Despite our feelings of sinfulness, we know that we are forgiven, once and for all, because Jesus came proclaiming a forgiveness of sin to all people.

St. Paul reminds the church in Corinth, as well as us, about the good news that he proclaimed to them long ago: that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day. St. Paul tells us to hold firmly to this message, unless we have come to believe in vain. Together, with God’s help, we come to believe in the story of our salvation through Christian community.

Resurrection life is not found in a building or on a boat but rather in people like you and me. In Christ we have been caught and released; and we are set free to live life and live it abundantly.This message of Resurrection life has been passed down from generation to generation through scripture and now through us. We are all preachers and teachers. We are all fisherfolk. We are all evangelists; for we all can be messengers of God’s saving grace. We catch people by sharing how our lives were once empty and then became full. How we once were lost and now have been found. How we were caught and then released.

Are we in the business of catching people or sharing the good news of God in Jesus Christ? When we answer the call to serve like Isaiah did, “Here I am! Send me”, we don’t literally have to drop everything in order to follow Jesus. We don’t need to sell anyone a special package, or a specific program, or a new service. We just need to share our lives and our faith with others. The Rev. Lauren Dow Wegner wrote, “Cast your nets, write your papers, teach your students, balance financial accounts, design the buildings, pour the concrete, make the lattes, lead the meetings, administer the IV’s, answer the phones, sing the arias. Do what you know how to do, and Jesus will use it to draw others into the kingdom of God.” (Christian Century, January 16, 2019)

We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement; and God’s grace is manifest in our lives when we tell people where we found the fish. We catch people when we give thanks to God for all things and in all circumstances, both when our nets are empty and when they’re full.There are plenty of fish in the sea, for sure, and there are plenty of techniques to catch them. Today, I just think we need more fisherfolk who are willing to proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ.

“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus; for God’s grace is never in vain.