Saying Yes

Yesterday was a great day for the Church.  We welcomed the newest priest into the Anglican Communion: Rev. Kerry Mansir.  Church, you better be on your toes and at the ready, because this one is a mover and a shaker.  God is going to do amazing work in and thru her (in fact, God already has been). I had the privilege of preaching, and while I will not normally be posting sermons here, this one felt different.  So here it is, and just before it, a couple of my favorite photos of the day:

Saying Yes

Alright, time for a confession. When Kerry mentioned we would be using the lessons for St. Fabian today, my mind went blank. The only person with a name like Fabian that I could think of was the guy on the cover of all those romance novels that seem to overwhelm donation bins: Fabio Lanzoni.

​So when I google searched Fabian, I  was pretty sure I was headed in the right direction until singer Fabian Forte showed up. Somehow, it did not seem this was the Fabian inspiring today’s lessons.  Sure enough, adding a saint in my quest for Fabian finally brought me to this guy: St. Fabian. And while I’m sure a few of you diehard Episcopalians already know about St. Fabian, for those of us who are new to his tradition, let me share what I learned.

In 236 C.E. a council convened in Rome to elect a new pope.  As you might imagine, this kind of event had a way of drawing a crowd, and Fabian, a layman farmer from another part of Italy was just one of many people there that day.  Suddenly a dove flew into the throng of people and landed on Fabian’s head. A hush must have fallen over the people as they noticed this rather ordinary man with a dove resting on his head. Surely, this was a sign of the Holy Spirit? The people knew God was showing them their next pope:  an ordinary farmer with a dove resting on his head.

The quiet was transformed into celebration, and Fabian was made the next pope.  As extraordinary as Fabian’s call story is, what I find most remarkable about him is how he spent his time in ministry.  He was an administrative reformer, dare I say, an administrative prophet.  He understood that the Church was at a critical juncture, and that if it was going to thrive, it needed some reconstruction.  He was an innovative leader who brought order and structure to the church in Rome by dividing the city into parishes.  

He also understood the value of remembering the stories of those who had been martyred, as a way of informing our own faith.  Fabian developed the custom and rites of veneration of martyrs buried in the catacombs, and appointed fourteen scholars to record the lives of the martyrs so they would not be forgotten in future years. 

After serving the Church faithfully for many years, he was martyred in 250 C.E. under Emperor Decius, who led a new round of Christian persecution.  Even in his death, Fabian modeled the Christian call to live into our faith boldly, no matter the cost.  He became an inspiration for many other martyrs.

Today’s lessons are appropriate when you are remembering a man who was killed for his faith.  At first glance, they may seem a bit harsh or dramatic, on this joyful occasion of Kerry’s ordination to the priesthood. And yet, I think they hold some vital truth for Kerry and for us, that’s worth giving pause and remembering.

We hear a very small excerpt from Luke’s Gospel that highlights the desolation of Jerusalem.  Jesus is in the middle of a longer speech where  he foretells the destruction of the temple and the persecution of the disciples, he describes end times, and the desolation of Jerusalem.  He paints a bleak picture, that can leave us feeling unsure of what to do or how to feel.

One of my favorite preachers, David Lose, has been known to say there are three things we can do with these kind of apocalyptic readings.  We can throw these texts out, disregard them all together, which somehow seems less than faithful. We can hear these texts as a prediction, which surely CNN and FOX News will then confirm, the end is near. Or--we can read these texts as promise. Yet to hear the text as promise, sometimes we need to read a few more verses than the lectionary assigns.  For example, just four verses after today’s gospel lesson ends, Jesus says to his disciples: 

“Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

This message was originally aimed at Christians that were in situations of crisis.  It was meant to offer them hope and comfort, by placing their struggles into the larger narrative of Christ’s eventual return and triumph over evil. The text is meant to tell it’s listeners that no matter how badly things get and no matter how bleak the future may seem, Christ has promised to return to us to redeem all of creation.  The text is a promise that reminds us God is always with us, particularly when the going is hard.

In some ways, I can’t imagine a better text for Kerry’s ordination or for us, the gathered church.  Kerry, you know as well as anyone, that ordained ministry is not for the faint of heart. Statistically speaking, the church as we have known it, is dying.   The way things have been, is not how they will be. You did not arrive hastily  to this moment in your journey. You have been incredibly thoughtful and prayerful, ever discerning, even as you live into your vocation as a wife, mother, and teacher. Even as those of us around you, have seen and known for a very, very long time that this is exactly what God has made you for, this is exactly what God has called you to.You were made for this. Like St. Fabian, you may not have expected ordained ministry.  Like St. Fabian, you simply were faithful, always showing up, ever present to God and the people in your life. Like St. Fabian, you too are an innovative, excellent leader who will help transform the church, so that we might follow God’s call to be a new church in a new age.

This text, this promise of the hope to come, is not just a good text for Kerry’s ordination.  It is the text that we the Church need to hear and remember.  As Bishop Lane has so faithfully and consistently reminded the Church, God is calling us to be a new church for a new age. It is going to be hard.  It is going to be painful.  Because giving birth to something new is always hard, and it is always painful. But what is born from that difficulty and pain is something altogether new and wonderful. Something so profoundly joyful, we can barely perceive it.  

To the good people of Christ Church, and to Steve, Kerry’s partner in ministry here in Gardiner I have a simple request.  A lot of churches think they want a young priest.  Even better if they have kids. The unspoken hope is that this young priest with a family will somehow transport the church back to the 1950s--and the pews will be packed to the gills again. People quietly expect that the energy and enthusiasm this new priest brings will be just the ticket to make things right again. Kerry is capable of doing pretty amazing ministry, and does indeed have a gift for working with children and youth.  Yet even Kerry can’t fix everything, she can't be the saviour.  We only have one savior, and he has been making it pretty clear over the last decade that we need to let go of the ways of old and ready ourselves for a new way of being.

What Kerry can do, and she can do it incredibly well if you let her, is help open your hearts and hands to try new ways of being the church. And my simple request to all of you, is to say "Yes", unconditionally. When you say, “Yes, but only” you are limiting the amount of change and transformation possible.  You are limiting the ways God is aching to work in and thru you.

I have a feeling you are a parish that wants to say yes, in fact, you probably already do say yes. As another young priest in the church, I have served two congregations who accepted the invitation to ministering together very differently. One said, “Yes, but we will only change this much” and they have struggled to find transformation.  Another said, “Yes, we’ll go anywhere God calls us” and it has led to transformation I couldn’t have imagined for us.

So forgive my simple request, forgive my inserting myself where I don’t quite belong, but I would urge you, during your time with Kerry, and in the years ahead, don’t limit what God can do in and thru you during your time together.  Instead, say yes, unconditionally. Again, and again, and again. However many times it takes until you look back and realize you really have been on a journey of transformation that only comes when we can say Yes to God over and over and over again.  Good people of Christ Church, Steve, Kerry--say yes to God during your time together, and go to the bold new places God may guide Kerry to lead you. I promise, you won’t regret it.

Today as we witness Kerry’s ordination to the priesthood, may we commit to praying for her and walking alongside her throughout her ministry.  May the people of Christ Church be willing to go to the bold places she may lead you towards.  And may all of us remember St. Fabian, not Fabio, and the promise of Christ’s words, as we live into God’s call to be a new church in a new age. Amen.