Stepping Out of One's Comfort Zone

SERMON:    AUG 10, 2014   1Kings 19:9-18, Matt 14:22-33  

“Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone”
The Rev. Laura Adelia

“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, O  LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”

Have you ever wondered how certain places got their names?  Like, how did the state of Arizona get named “Arizona”?  Or the city of Phoenix, “Phoenix”?  How did Casa Grande become named “Casa Grande”?  More specifically, how did St. Peter’s get named “St. Peter’s”?   Out of all the saints, why did the church founders choose St. Peter?

As many of you know, a few weeks ago we held the funeral service here for Meg Bianco. Meg, was one of the founding members of St Peter’s, in the early 1950s.  She was in fact, the last living founding member and the one who lived the longest, with her passing at age 91. 

Before her funeral service, I met with her son Walter and his wife “Tern” at a Denny’s in Scottsdale, as they live up there. 

And I am always amazed when I speak with the family, as they tell the story of their family member’s lives.  Walter told me the story of how Meg and her husband came to the Casa Grande area back in the late ‘40s or so, to start a cotton farm. 

He also described what living in Casa Grande was like back then.  Now think about this.  Imagine what it must have been like here, some 60 -70 years ago! 

It did not sound like it was for the faint of heart.  There was no air conditioning, there were floods, snakes, scorpions, and the dentist’s office was located above the town saloon, in what is now downtown Casa Grande!  A bit of the wild-west!

Meg and her husband were originally from the SF Bay Area.  One would have thought they wouldn’t last long here, with the heat and all of desert life.  But they stayed here the rest of their lives.  And not only that, Meg was part of starting a new church, this church!

And it struck me, as I contemplated today’s gospel reading, the story of Jesus walking on the sea….in a storm.   Perhaps there is a hint here, as to why they church founders chose St Peter for the name of this new little church back in the early 50’s.

We have all heard the story.  Jesus walks on water.  But actually, the word is “sea”, not water.  Jesus is walking on the sea. 

The story begins with Jesus sending his disciples out ahead of him, to go across the sea to the other side, where he will meet them later.  He then goes to the mountains by himself to pray.  He needed some alone time, some quiet time, as we all do from time to time!  

Meanwhile, the disciples are in their boat, and the wind kicks up, which in turn, kick up the waves.    In other words, they are caught in a storm at sea.   

For those of you that think in metaphors, you have probably recognized that “the sea” represents something.   And, you are right!

In ancient Hebraic thought, “the sea”, especially a stormy sea is a metaphor for chaos, evil, death, fear, terror, and so forth. 

I know we think of water as life, especially here in the desert, but in this sense, it is viewed in its negative & life threatening sense.    

Water and the sea can mean death and chaos, even here in the desert…monsoon storms, floods, downpours…and the wind, well…it can take the roof off a building, uproot trees, oh yes, and then there are dust storms…

The disciples in their little boat caught in a storm are naturally afraid.  And then along comes Jesus, walking on the waves toward the disciples in their boat.  They were even more afraid.   And Jesus says, “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid!”

What are the metaphors here?

Jesus overcomes chaos, evil and the storms of life.    And who has not experienced a storm or two in life? 

Jesus’ presence in the storm and his words instill courage.  For even in the most difficult of times of life, God is there, with us!

A few years ago I was going thru illness & unpleasant medical treatments.  It was very, very difficult.  I was suffering. I met with the chaplain of the hospital every week, a rabbi.  And she helped me walk thru “the storm”.  One week, I was especially having a difficult time.  She saw I was suffering.  She asked me, “Is God only in the good times of life?  The easy times?  Or in the beautiful places on earth?”  It made me think.    She continued, “God is also here in the rough times times, too.”

I knew she was right.  It helped me as I struggled in that storm. 

But back to the gospel story…  it is here where Peter “steps up”.  Peter recognizes that Jesus wants him to accompany him on his walk on “the sea”, and asks Jesus to command him to come to him.    

“Come”, says Jesus.  And Peter boldly steps out of the boat & onto the sea.  Peter dares to step out of his comfort zone, and go forth!

At first Peter was actually walking on the sea, toward Jesus.  But then he noticed the wind and the waves and the storm all around him, he lost his focus, and he started to sink.

His fears got to him.  Hey, we have all been there.  Peter cries out, “Lord save me!”  And Jesus did.

Now, many a preacher tend to focus on Peter’s lack of faith here as the point of the story.  I present an alternate view for you to contemplate…

First, there is the image of Jesus taking time to pray….a reminder that even in the busy-ness of life, or before any new endeavor, to take time for quiet & prayer.    Elijah found God’s presence “not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire, …but in the sound of sheer silence”. 

The image of Jesus sending the disciples in the boat, on a mission, just as he send us in mission today.

The image of choppy seas….the reality that when we set forth on Christ’s mission, we will probably encounter troubled waters. 

Yet in spite of challenges, trials and tribulations, God is there with us…even in the storms of life.

I would be willing to bet that Meg and her fellow founders of St Peter’s back in the early 1950s encountered all kinds of challenges.  But starting this little church, in this community…was their mission.

The image of Jesus walking on the stormy sea, that Jesus and God’s power and love overcome evil, and can conquer our fears.

The image of the disciples, who because of their fear at first did not recognize Christ as he walked toward them. 

May we recognize when Christ walks near us, and be open to ways God may come to us, as the Spirit usually comes in the most unexpected of ways…

The image of Peter, stepping out of the boat & onto the water.  Peter’s action challenges us, to dare to step out of our comfort zone!  Peter does not fail, he at least tries!   

The image of Peter sinking as he loses focus on Jesus and notices wind and waves, reminds us that when we are going thru the storm, to keep focus on God. 

The message here, point of the story is NOT Peter’s lack of faith.  This passage calls us forth, to dare to step out in faith!   

It also shows us that having faith is not a guarantee that we will not faced “troubled waters”. 

The key to faith and fullness of life is to follow Peter’s example, to dare to step out of the boat.  Dare to step out of our comfort zones!

It’s not easy, I know.    Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

Yes, being a disciple is risky and exciting…  Getting out of the boat to walk with Christ is most risky, most exciting, and most fulfilling way to live! 

Let us think and pray on these things!

Amen!

Sermon - "The Symbiotic Relationship of Worship & Service" - Pentecost 8, AUG 3, 2014

Good morning everyone!    

Icon: feeding the 5,000

I begin this morning with a question.  What is an example of a symbiotic relationship?  [Plants, humans, animals.]  One can’t exist without the other!   

And what about symbols?   We know the meaning of a symbol is “something which stands for something else”. 

And just look all around right there in our sanctuary!  It is full of symbols!  The stained glass windows, the colors of the liturgical season (green for Pentecost), the Cross, the dove, what else?   

How about the symbol for St. Peter, the upside down cross?  Why is it upside down?  It must mean something!

But a symbol can be more than a visual image, it can also be a gesture, a sound, a word, even letters & numbers are symbols!   Symbols are everywhere!  Look at the symbolic gestures we all just did together…the sign of the cross, bowing, genuflecting... 

And have you ever noticed that in music, some songs just “sound sad”, and others “sound happy”?  I’m not talking about the lyrics, but the sounds!  What is the sound that makes a song sound sad?  Yes, the minor third, the blue note!  And happy?  Usually it is the tempo and rhythm…

Yes, symbols are a complex form of communication and have multiple levels of meaning. They can mean a certain something, but to each of us, can have different meanings.  The same goes for other cultures.  What means something here, can mean a whole other thing in another country or culture! 

Last week I spoke about what the kingdom of God is like, and ‘why do we worship’, and that at its root, worship is about love. 

But wait…there’s more!   Worship, because of the richness and depth of symbols & ritual actions, is very much interrelated with what we do here inside church, but also outside of “church”.  The two are very much connected…a symbiotic relationship.

How?  Let’s take a look…

Today’s Gospel passage in Matthew tells the story of feeding the 5,000. 

We all know the story well.  Jesus goes to a deserted place to try and get some rest & alone time, but crowds of people find him.  Instead of sending the people away so he and his disciples could be alone & eat a meal together, Jesus did not send the crowds away.   He could have said, hey come back tomorrow, but he didn’t.

Jesus saw there was a need, and had compassion for the people.  The people were sick, so he healed them.  They were hungry, so he fed them.

“Jesus took the bread, looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples to give to the people.”  Here, we see the beginnings of the future Holy Communion / Holy Eucharist. 

Breaking Bread

The Eucharist was born in service to others! 

The actions of Jesus blessing, thanking and sharing the bread is innately connected to serving the people in the wider community.

The early Christians continued this style of ministry, (today we call this “outreach”, or “mission”)  & Christianity spread like wildfire thru the Mediterranean, the Middle East, into Africa and into Europe.

Why did it spread so fast?  What drew people to this new religion?

Well, the early Christians really practiced what they preached. They got out there and lived the Gospel!

The whole of the early church spread because the early Christians helped fulfill the needs of the people.  They helped the homeless, they fed the hungry, they cared for the sick…   No armchair analysts! 

The early Christians were not inward looking…they were outward looking.  They lived out their faith!

And so I ask you, how do you “live your faith”?

Fish symbol

The very first Christians would meet in houses to worship.  They didn’t have churches or church buildings, so they met in people’s houses.  The symbol of early Christianity was the fish.  People would have a symbol of a fish on their door or house…the Romans didn’t know what this meant.  (Remember, the early Christians were persecuted , so they used symbols and symbolic gestures with each other.)   

For example, sometimes people would greet each other and symbolically (secretly) ask the person if they were a Christian by drawing an arc in the sand with their foot, a half of a fish.  If the other person was a Christian, he or she would draw the other half of the arc of the fish in the sand with their foot!  A sort of secret code!

And so they met in people’s houses to worship.  The early liturgy (remember, liturgy means the work of the people), revolved around

Fresco of the Agape Meal

gathering for a meal, called the “agape meal”, the love feast.  They also prayed, sang songs, listening to scripture and had a teaching or lesson. This later became the homily or sermon.  They visited, encouraged one another, and had fellowship, and they ate food together.  This later became the Holy Eucharist!

And if you have ever wondered why or how worship services developed & became the way they are today, why we have Eucharist, why we sit, stand and kneel, why we sing, etc. …it is and has always been a reflection and expression of what we do in the wider world!

People living out their faith.   Without this, the symbols, rituals and songs that we sing and all that we do here in worship can become meaningless empty rituals.

As we know, many hospitals, care facilities, nursing homes, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, orphanages, schools, colleges, & universities were originally started by various and courageous people, living out their faith.    

Take for example St. Joseph’s hospital, the first hospital in Phoenix.  It was started in 1895 by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy.   Actually, the Sisters first came here to establish a school.  But upon arriving, they saw there were many people sick with tuberculosis, and most of them were very poor.  Many people living in tents, hovels and dying in the streets.  And so, the Sisters instead established a hospital to serve the sick and the poor.    

The Episcopal Church was also very involved in mission and serving

St. Lukes, 1911 Phoenix, AZ

the needs of the people in early Arizona.   In 1907, The Rev. John Atwood established St. Luke’s Home / Hospital in Phoenix in memory of his wife, and to care for tuberculosis patients.   

In 1919, they expanded to care for war veterans and treating those with other diseases.  (The Rev. Atwood by the way, became the Bishop of AZ in 1911 and served until 1925.)

Treating Veterans in 1919

Notice these ministries were based on need and changed as needs changed. 

However, probably one of the biggest mistakes ever made by the Arizona Diocese was their decision in 1995 to sell St Luke’s hospital.

Bishop Kirk Smith talked about this at a meeting last year.   St Luke’s was sold so the Episcopal Church could concentrate on “church matters” and not have the headaches of managing a hospital.

Unfortunately what helped make much of the Episcopal Church so connected to the wider community & non Episcopalians in Phoenix had been essentially cut off.   The connection of direct service, ministry and mission to the people and community, gone….and for so many recipients of this medical ministry in the community…the Episcopal Church further removed. 

Yes, big mistake.

Churches and people of faith used to start & run hospitals, schools, help feed the poor, house the homeless…now we have non profit organizations, and for profit organizations that do this… so many of the things that the church used to be directly involved in, has become the charge of other organizations.

And it is no secret that church attendance has been in decline the past 40 or so years.  And for many, practice no religion at all.  Many are raised with no religion at all.   So many students that I teach and have taught over the years have been brought up with no religion at all.  And in the military, the largest group at every unit I have served, is “no religious preference”.   Sadly, for many people in the wider world, the church has become irrelevant.

So I ask some questions for us all to contemplate…

What is St Peter’s known for in Casa Grande and in the wider communities?   The Gila Indian Reservation, Ak-Chin, the Tohono O’Odham reservation…. the city of Maricopa?   

How are we known?   Are we known?    

Is St. Peter’s an inward looking church, or an outward looking church?  One based on the needs of the people & wider community?

You may wonder what this has to do with worship and liturgy… 

Actually, it has everything to do with worship and liturgy.

Let us think and pray on these things...

Amen.