Proper 22C + Si tuvieras fe + 10.2.16

(image: https://mannamustardseeds.wordpress.com/)

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Lamentations 1:1–6; Ps. 137; Tim. 1:1–14; Luke 17:5–10)

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you (2 Timothy 1:5).”

This passage always makes me smile because it reminds me of our Lois, and a moment I had just this summer at the Ventura County Pride Festival. There we were at the booth, hanging out and enjoying our spot with a great view of the Ventura Surfers, our space bedecked with supplies to share with those wishing to know just how inclusive and embracing God’s love really is, and I spotted that the booth next to us was for the Rainbow Umbrella Youth Program. I went over to say hello and to check out the awesome pins they were making, and then one of the youth spoke to me. “I remember you from my grandma’s funeral.” She said. And come to find out that she is the granddaughter of Lois Weatherhead, and that although they don’t always attend our church, she still felt very much connected with All Saints. We go to the Pride festival every year to reach out to others with God’s love. But God had already traveled ahead of us in that case. And it reminded of the faithfulness of Lois and all our All Saints’ saints. It also reminds me that by God’s grace, we reach further out into the community than we know. There are so many cool examples of this that I know many of you have experienced, too.

We are also interconnected. When Alene and I were getting ready to go on a week of vacation in June, George T. said to me, “you’re going on vacation, but you’re still going to think about us!” And of course, being a priest who tries to keep good boundaries, my first thought was, no, I am going on vacation, I won’t think too much about church. But truth be told, he was right. I did think about and pray for you all, as I always do. I remember you all constantly in my prayers, as Paul says. Not in anxious way, but because we are a community and we all do. We think of each other naturally. If someone is gone for a while who is a regular parishioner, we notice. If one is in pain, we care. We rejoice with those who are happy.
So All Saints goes wide and All Saints reaches back in to care for each other.

We are connected to each other in the economy and household of God.
I use this term “economy” because the Greek word oikonomia is the base of our word economy. But its base is the word oikos, or household. Paul is speaking to Timothy of his literal household and the faith that he has learned there.[1] This faith has empowered him to do ministry in the world, and Paul encourages him to continue that ministry, unafraid. Even though he may have reason to be afraid because Paul is in prison, after all.

We have a similar household—each of our households, where we first learn faith from parents or grandparents or chosen families. We also have our household of faith, here at All Santos. We are called to take care of it. Be good stewards of it. Many of you do this so lovingly by caring for the facilities in myriad ways. Watering plants, coming for clean-up days, cleaning out fridges. Supporting projects to renew the facilities. We also care for this household of faith by giving as God leads us, so that ministry can be done. To maintain the facility is to allow not only services to happen weekly but also many nonprofit and other groups as well as ministries of our church to keep benefiting from the space in order to serve our community. Supporting the church hires staff and allows us to expand our programs to youth and others.

We give as we feel God calls us, not because it is our duty as God’s humble servants (and by the way I always read this gospel as a little bit tongue in cheek because chances are, few in that rabble had a servant. Jesus just wanted us to get an attitude check.) We give because everything that lands in our lap or wallet may be earned by the sweat of our brow, but it is ultimately a gift from God. Therefore we respond in gratitude by first giving something back to God, and then seeing to our needs. An attitude of gratitude is the Christian way. That is why, as many of you do, too, Alene and I take a percentage off the top each month to give to the church and other ministries.
But none of this has to do with shame. Shame has no part in this. We are just doing what we can, when we can. Jesus doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but we are called to listen and follow as best we can. So we simply, joyfully respond as we can to whatever God gives-big or small- and we trust that it will be enough. And that it will leave us enough.

St. Paul speaks to Timothy of rekindling the gift of God that is within him. I think every year at Stewardship time and in fact throughout the year, we are asked just this. Will we rekindle the ministries that God calls us to do through All Saints and in our individual lives?
Can we recommit to supporting ministries such as Bread of Life, the Food Pantry on our campus and our outreach such as that to the correctional locally and globally to the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf in Burma? To other community outreach programs that support non-profits and 12-step groups’ use of our facilities, as well as activities to support community health and wellbeing such as yoga and Zumba? Even the use of our hall is an outreach that supports our local community.

Can we recommit to each other? To the youth who desperately need our support and mentoring and other parishioners in need? Let us rekindle what All Saints has meant to each of us when we have been through a hard time or when we were able to support a friend in the community. Let us grow in faith together.

In many ways, I know that this question may seem redundant, because we have such an awesome, committed community already. But let us use this month to rekindle the flame of the gifts that God has given us, as we cultivate the community garden or serve at Bread of Life. We are the flame of God’s love at All Santos, burning to share the faith with so many in our wider community.

And in all of it, I am unafraid. Because I know that the power to do all the things we do and we dream of doing in the future ultimately comes from God. In the song we sing in the Spanish service today, “Si Tuvieras Fe,” or “Montaña,” we sing, “Si tuvieras fe como un grano de mostaza, Eso lo dice el Señor, Tu le dirías a esa montaña, Muévete, muévete … Y esta montaña se moverá, se moverá, se moverá… con su Santo Espíritu.”[2]
This song repeats Jesus’ words, saying, “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to the mountain, move, move and the mountain would move by the power of the Spirit!”

But we know that although God cannot increase our faith-only we can do that by placing our trust in God- that the faith that God gives us makes the incredible possible.
Through God we shine a bright light as All Santos Oxnard, and God willing we will keep shining, brighter and brighter still. With all of our help and a little faith on our part, God is building up this church. God is building up this community. God is renewing the world.

Amen.

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[1] John Frederick, “Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:1-14,” https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3036.

[2] http://www.musica.com/letras.asp?letra=1580562