Now

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

April 7, 2019

5 Lent C

Bernice Cain was a parishioner at St. James Episcopal Church, in Piqua, Ohio.  She died many years ago and she very generously left her farm to the church.  A farm is a lovely gift, but what on earth was the church to do with it? Vestry meetings were very interesting as we considered the possibilities. We could keep the farm and continue to lease the land to the person currently farming there, but that would make the church a farm owner and we were not at all sure that the church was called to be a farm owner. We could turn the farm into a retreat center and host a variety of groups there but staffing the retreat center would be a challenge. We could sell the property, but there were some restrictions on the use of the land that might make that difficult. What were we to do with this most generous, even extravagant gift that would honor Bernice’s generosity and not create a burden for the church for generations to come?

In the end, the farmer leasing the property wanted to purchase the land and continue to farm in the place where he had already invested so much time and energy. This was a win-win, for sure. The land would continue to be farmed and the church would not own it. But now we had a new challenge-what to do with the significant amount of money from the sale of the land. More interesting vestry meetings followed as some people thought the money should be saved, some thought it should be given away, some thought the money should be spent on much needed repairs to the building, and other vestry members had other ideas. When the church had just enough money to pay the bills, there was no reason to talk about what needs we might meet with a windfall of cash. Now that there was some money, more needs emerged than there was money to fix.

This gift of a farm seems a bit like the gift of costly perfume that Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet this morning. What was the appropriate use of a such an extravagant gift that, in Mary’s case was worth about a year’s wages for a laborer? Should the money have been given to the poor, even if Judas’ motive was not so pure? Or was Mary’s use of the costly perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet a way of honoring Jesus?  Jesus had just raised Mary’s brother Lazarus from the dead after all. Or does this anointing point to a new future as we know, even if the disciples did not, that Jesus will not be available for anointing after burial. Should the value of the perfume be used to reduce scarcity or to create abundance? That is the same question that the church in Piqua wrestled with as they worked to discern the most faithful use of the money they had inherited.

However, in the beginning of the conversations about what to do with the money, I think people in Piqua secretly, or in some cases quite openly, hoped that the money would allow the church to go back to the glory days of large families, full pews, and a budget that would more than meet basic expenses. The temptation was, and often is, to look to the past to define what we should be doing in the present or what our goal should be for the future. If we just had enough money, people, resources, time, energy, or whatever, to be the way we used to be, then all would be well. Our reading from Isaiah nips that attitude right in the bud. This morning we hear God say "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing. Do you not perceive it?" Now, this is the same God who continually self-identifies as "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" and "the God who brought you out of bondage in Egypt and into the Land of Promise." The very passage we heard this morning begins by recalling the way God brought the Israelites out of Egypt by making a path in the mighty waters. So, why does God say "Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old" when God has just reminded us of those exact things?

I don’t think God really wants any of us to forget what God has done in the past, either in Scripture, or in the history of the church, or in our own lives. But God clearly does not want us to cling to the past as if God only acted in the past. God does not want the Israelites to look back at their Exodus from Egypt and think "Wasn’t that a great thing God did!" God wants the Israelites to look back at the Exodus and think "If God can do that, I wonder what God is doing now!" God says "I am about to do a new thing. Do you not perceive it?" If we let God’s past actions keep us from seeing what God is doing now, we are worshiping the past, not God.

As we move toward Holy Week, we are tempted to think that our observances of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, his last supper with his disciples, his arrest, trial, and crucifixion, and even his resurrection are simply reminders of what God has done in the past. And we do remember, year after year, what God has done for us in the events of Holy Week and Easter. But just when we get too caught up in celebrating what God has done for us in the past, we hear God say "I am about to do a new thing. Do you not perceive it?" As we move into Holy Week, we are called to wonder "What new thing is God doing in our midst now?”  Are our hearts and eyes open to see what God is doing now?

In the end, the church in Piqua decided to bank half the money for what new thing God might be calling them to do, and use the other half of the money for some renovations and repairs to the building that would make the parish hall accessible to all people and create more fellowship opportunities, expand the food pantry to serve more people, and paint the inside of the church so that the building would look less shabby and more welcoming. Those were good decisions that really did bring some growth and energy to the church as new things began to happen in the renovated space and new ideas for ministry began to emerge. God calls us to remember what God has done, not so that we can repeat the past, but so that we can see what new thing God is doing in our midst, now.

                                                          Amen.