Sermon preached by The Reverend Dr. Harold T. Lewis

SERMON PREACHED BY THE REVEREND DR. HAROLD T. LEWIS, RECTOR CALVARY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA ON THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 7 OCTOBER 2007



"Write the vision; make it plain upon the tablets." (Habakkuk 2:2)

For a variety of reasons recently, I have been thinking about vision. It may have started when I got these new glasses, when the young lady who fitted them for me recommended these smaller frames because, she said, people could better appreciate my beautiful eyebrows. (I suppose that now that I am a sexagenarian, I am especially susceptible to flattery!) To date, the only person who noticed my new glasses is Christine Dixon-Ernst, and she said nothing about my eyebrows! In another arena, I have been having an inordinate number of meetings lately with colleagues in the Diocese, during which we have contrasted our different visions for the Episcopal Church. This weekend, Greg Movesian has been with the stewardship task force and the vestry helping us to sharpen our vision for this parish. And then I heard somewhere a quotation attributed to Helen Keller, who was asked what could possibly be worse than being blind. She responded "The worst thing I can imagine is people who are able to see but who have no vision."

In today's Old Testament lesson from the book of the prophet Habakkuk we read these words: "Write the vision; make it plain upon the tablets." Habakkuk is one of the so-called minor prophets (they comprise the last twelve books of the Hebrew Bible) but they have a major message. One commentator has pointed out that the three great doctrinal books of the New Testament, Romans, Galatians and Hebrews, all quote Habakkuk's statement "The just shall live by faith." Ralph Adams Cram obviously thought Habakkuk and other minor prophets were important. Statues of Habakkuk and two other minor prophets, Hosea and Zechariah, share the base of this pulpit with two of their "major" colleagues, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. (Calvary's architect apparently wanted to ensure that preachers in this parish would always preach upon the foundation of the prophets!)

"Write the vision; make it plain upon the tablets." The Lord is telling Habakkuk and all the prophets throughout the ages to impart a clear message about God's saving works. But there's more. The verse goes on, and it can be translated two ways --- and since I only studied Hebrew for one day, I am not in a position to determine which is more accurate. One translation reads "so that a runner may read it." In other words, a message so pithy and concise that someone running by would be able to read the tablets and digest the message. The second translation is "so that they who read it may run" --- in other words, those who read the message would be inspired by the word and run with it, imparting it to others. Maybe we can combine the two for an even richer interpretation.

This morning, like Habakkuk, I would like to write a vision, but unlike the prophet, concerned with the problems of ancient Judah, I would like to write a vision for this parish. It might be propitious, in these troublous times, as the church is tossed to and fro by every vain blast of doctrine, and as we are confused by the recent (and present) unpleasantness, to say a word or two about where we stand. It is important, from time to time, to say where we stand, because unless we stand for something, we will most assuredly fall for anything!

The vision of this parish is summed up in what I call radical hospitality. It is expressed in our mission statement in which we say we "welcome all in the Name of Christ." It is, in turn, reflective of the exhortation given in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "Practice hospitality to strangers for thereby you may entertain angels unawares" (13:2). But just as the young man asked Jesus "Who is my neighbor?" (Lk. 10:29) we may well ask "Who is all?"

First, we welcome all regardless of where they are in their Christian pilgrimage. There seem to be more and more attempts recently to codify a strict list of beliefs to which adherents to the Faith must ascribe. This is the thinking behind the so-called Anglican Covenant, which states that you must believe thus and so in precisely such and such a way if you wish to profess and call yourself an Anglican. Moreover, you must eschew, jettison and otherwise rid yourself of this and that belief before you darken the door of a church. This is precisely the thinking behind the revised canons to come before the Convention of this diocese. Provisions are being made for casting overboard those whose beliefs do not strictly conform to the new stringent standard, and for making room in the boat for those elsewhere, provided they meet with the approval of the members of Convention. Hello? Is this a church or a country club?

At Calvary, we welcome dyed-in-the-wool folk who are steeped in the faith, newcomers who are exploring the faith, and everybody in between. And yes, we welcome those who question tenets of the faith and even doubt the veracity of some of the church's teachings. Perhaps you heard recently about the brouhaha about the discovery of some journals of the late Mother Theresa in which she expressed doubts about the love and providence of God. Some seemed to suggest that this was impossible; others opined that her reputation was tarnished or that she was a fraud; others went so far as to question whether the process toward her canonization should not be halted. Such people miss the point. Mother Theresa was a human being who lived cheek by jowl with Calcutta's poor 24/7. These were the least, the lost and the last of society --- the sick the homeless, the hungry, the destitute, the disease-ridden, the abused. What I would find incredible is if she never harbored or expressed doubt as to whether God cared for humanity. Doubt is not a sign of faithlessness. It is a sign that one is taking one's faith seriously. The 1928 Prayer Book collect for the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle (otherwise known as "Doubting Thomas") begins with these words: "Almighty God, who, for their greater confirmation of the faith didst cause thy servant Thomas to be doubtful. . ." It is through doubting, discerning, wrestling with articles of the Faith in the bosom of the Christian community in the company of other believers and doubters that we come to a deeper understanding of it, not by accepting canned dicta handed down to us by an international commission or a diocesan committee on canons.

At Calvary we welcome everyone regardless of their spiritual health, being reminded of our Lord's teaching that "Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick." Contrary to what non-churchgoers often say, that churchgoers feel superior to others, we come to church knowing that we have fallen short of the glory of God, as we sing, "It's me, it's me, it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer." We believe, with St. Augustine of Hippo, that the church is not a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners. And when others accuse of being hypocrites, we agree, and tell them that there's room for one more!

At Calvary, we welcome everyone regardless of how much they have in the bank. A few years ago, a new member who had transferred from another parish wrote and told me that when she announced in her old congregation that she was coming here, they told her, "You can't afford to be a member of Calvary." Reputations die hard. Perhaps her fellow parishioners that Calvary was still exclusively populated by robber barons, steel magnates and their descendants --- if indeed that was ever the case. But the fact is we welcome landed gentry as well as garden variety folk. We welcome the old guard and the new guard, nouveaux riches as well as vieux pauvres.

At Calvary, we welcome everyone regardless of their demographics. It should be abundantly clear that race and gender are non-issues here. As it turns out, we even model this in the clergy. Jennifer Stevens, the wife of our former associate rector, said that when the clergy processed down the aisle in this church, we looked like the poster children for inclusivity. We boast that there are more than 50 zip codes on the parish mailing list, an outward and visible sign that people find it worth the trip! We welcome those who are single, married, or partnered, and cognizant of the fact that relationships sometimes fail, we welcome the separated and divorced. And because we believe that people have as much choice about their sexuality as they do about their race or gender, we welcome gays and lesbians. And because we believe that intimacy is a basic human need, their welcome comes with the expectation of faithfulness, not imposed celibacy.

Calvary believes herself to be a parish in the mainstream of the Episcopal Church, an admittedly imperfect organization whose members recognize the authority of the Presiding Bishop, the General Convention and the Constitution and Canons. We are committed to worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Happy-clappy worship, rock bands and movie screens with bouncing balls jumping from word to word will never be seen in our sanctuary, at least not during the tenure of the fifteenth rector. Our liturgy and music will be of the highest caliber, befitting our goodly heritage and the beautiful holy space for worship bequeathed to us by a previous generation.

And finally, believing with Archbishop William Temple that the church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those not its members, we shall, like Samuel Shoemaker, the beloved twelfth rector of this parish, continue to stand at the door to welcome all and sundry into our fellowship, but also go through that door to seek out those in the highways and byways, to bring them into the fold, in order that we might share with them the salvific message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"Habakkuk" means "one who embraces." Calvary's mission and ministry is to embrace all who come seeking the love, the care and compassion of Christ whom we invite to offer with us "our selves, our souls and bodies to be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice."

Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. AMEN.