Stay on Target

Proper 21

Fr. Tim Nunez

May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

We are so very blessed by the clergy and lay leaders who contributed to the design and construction of our sanctuary. Week by we enter into this holy and very beautiful space to worship and share community in Christ. I brought the kids up to the altar to teach them how our physical focal points of the altar and Jesus reflect our spiritual focus. Let’s start at the front and recognize the design elements that accentuate our worship and fellowship.

We start at our red doors, which are only a few years old but had been anticipated when the church was first built. They are red to remind us that this space is sanctuary because of the blood of Christ. The red carpet, red kneelers and red seat cushions all follow that theme. Next, we look up and admire our beautiful wood ceiling that evokes the underside of a boat, which we use to navigate the waters of chaos, like Noah and like the disciples, facing storms and waves on the Sea of Galilee.

Now we enter the nave, and we find stained glass on both sides that evokes Gospel scenes and saints who inspire us. The pews are in rows that are less about crops than they are about orienting us forward. And what do you see? We have elevated the Word of God; readings of Old and New Testament passages and leading our participation in the psalms, as well as reflection and exposition of God’s Word in the sermon. The Nicene Creed and prayers are led from up here as well, our words to God. The choir leading our singing is also sharing the Word.

Notice how this archway focuses our attention, leading our eyes to the altar of God, our wood carving of Jesus and our beautiful “Good Shepherd” stained glass window. The chapel has a second altar and “Good Shepherd” window. All of it points us to Jesus and his immeasurable love for us, expressed most clearly in his atoning sacrifice for us and his resurrection.

There, Jesus and the altar come together as we remember his sacrifice, and we encounter him at the altar rail. We commune with him, and he sends us forth, back out those doors to serve him in all that we are and do.

We could go into more detail. We should note that other churches share many of our design elements. Others have different designs. This is not about right or wrong or even tastes. The variety is wonderful – as long as the design serves the central purpose of building people’s faith in Christ, and through him with the one true God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus has entered the Temple after his triumphal entry. It’s Holy Week. He has “cleansed” the Temple of salesmen and money changers. He has been teaching and healing people. Little children are calling him “Son of David.” This is all disturbing to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. Who is he, anyway? Who gave him permission to do all of this when they are in charge?

The irony that Jesus points out is that the very leaders who are supposed to be expert with their scriptures and traditions – including the reasons they have their rituals and festivals as means to be reconciled with God, cannot see what God is doing right in front of them.

There is only one way a person becomes a prophet. God calls them, gives them a message and gives them a target for that message. People can judge the prophet on two basic points, First, is the prophet saying what prophets say? The message doesn’t vary. It’s always about repenting and returning to the Lord. There are often benefits promised for doing so, and warnings about what will happen for not doing so. Second, the prophet’s authenticity is proven over time. The consequences – favorable or unfavorable – happen or they don’t.

John the Baptist clearly fits the bill in terms of the message, to repent, that he is preparing the way of the Lord, and that someone very special was coming. He had bold, unflinching confidence even to the point of his own death. The authorities should certainly have had some skepticism early on, but clearly he was authentic. But they won’t admit it. He was outside of their structure.

Now Jesus is teaching and preaching and healing right in front of them, and they won’t simply listen to him. What is blocking them? The most obvious reason is that they are part of a leadership structure that has become rigid, following established rituals and organized patterns. God sometimes sends prophets to shake things up a bit.

Also, just as in our time, people get caught up in competing parties and sects. The Sadducees, Pharisees, Scribes, Temple priests and elders were aligned on some things but not others. And there were zealots out in the desert with extreme ideas, too. It becomes natural to defend your place.

The outsiders, the tax collectors, the prostitutes and other sinners had no place int that structure and so nothing to defend. They just knew they were miserable. They knew John was right and true, offering exactly what they needed. People were streaming out to him continuously because his message hit home.

And Jesus is offering even more, the Kingdom of God has come near. In him, every hope, every dream, all truth and all love is being poured out to those who receive him.

This is why Paul shares his very best, most loving counsel with the church at Philippi. He formed that community around his witness to Jesus Christ. And he knows that they are people, people who have different ideas, different perspectives and competing ambitions. He has seen that with every church he has planted because people are people.

His answer to all of that potential intrigue is to get everyone together by collectively seeking the mind of Christ, and submitting all of our selfish ambitions and conceits to him, and following Jesus’ great example of humility and obedience with fear and trembling, and trusting God to make some good use of us.

Look again at this building. It’s all designed to point us to him. That is vital for us to remember as individuals and vital for us to remember as a church. Everything flows from focusing on him, communing with him, and following wherever he leads, in all that we are and do.

AMEN!