Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost, rcl yr b,
Thanksgiving Sunday, October 13, 2024
JOB 23:1-9, 16-17; PSALM 22:1-15; HEBREWS 4:12-16; MARK 10:17-31
Jesus, looking at the man, loved him.
(Mark 10:26-27)
In spite of the fact that today is not one of those picture-perfect Thanksgiving Sundays that are unseasonably warm and invite long walks on nature trails kicking the crisp red and yellow fallen leaves with each step, I wish you deep blessing as you reflect on all that has been throughout this past year.
For Christians, being thankful is our default setting. We really are the thankful people we sing about in our Harvest Thanksgiving hymns. We know that things are far from perfect in our world: we experience personal losses that often seem insurmountable, we lament the deep suffering that results from hate, greed, injustice, violence, war, racism in all its horrific expressions, and finally the sin of indifference, the icing on the cake, so to speak, that ratchets up all the other sins at least a notch, if not more. But Christians never give up. Our faith in the real presence of the risen Christ in our world, present through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, gives us hope and moves us to thanksgiving for the good that is, rather than being overcome by the good that is not. Being an Easter people, Christians never lose their vision of a world reborn in the power and promise of Jesus’ resurrection. Love is the most powerful force in the world, and it is the love of God for all people in Jesus Christ, that love revealed in his birth, life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection that provides the transforming power to turn despair into hope, abandonment into accompaniment, and yes, even death into life.
And as we accept this inestimable gift, what the love of God in Jesus Christ means for us is that it is our secret power and our secret power to use. Love, our love for this broken world, our love for our neighbour, our love for the earth in all its wonder, mystery, beauty and terrifying power is the thing that will save and redeem all the things that trouble and anger us. The gift of incarnation is precisely that God gives us the same love we receive in Jesus Christ to remake and transform the brokenness in our world. Our hearts can be full of sorrow for all that is wrong and lacking, but they can also be overbrimming with thanksgiving for the grace we have known in the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In today’s Gospel, there is one editorial remark that for me speaks to the truth of who Jesus was and who we are called to be. A would-be disciple runs up to Jesus, kneels before him, and bares his soul to Jesus and his disciples. In so many words, he poses a question about the golden standard of righteousness, attained by keeping the law of Moses. Jesus knows what his answer will be to the man’s question, and that it will challenge him, perhaps beyond his capacity to change. But Mark writes, “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”
Perhaps we assume that the rich man never became a disciple of Jesus, that he didn’t change, but I’m not so sure. Mark writes that the man was shocked (he didn’t expect Jesus’ answer to be so demanding) and that he then went away grieving; but Mark leaves the end of the story for his readers to finish for themselves. Could it be that Jesus’ looking at the man and loving him was so disarming that it led the man to question his values? We know that Jesus is all about change: he loves nothing better than to challenge false values. But he is a gentle adversary. He comes to us in love, mercy, and grace. This little fragment from today’s Gospel may not be merely about righteousness; it may also be about Jesus’ prevenient love, the love that precedes (in this case) the radical demands of the gospel.
When we contest against the radical demands of the gospel, when we resist the call to be people for others, we are the rich man in this account. Jesus remains Jesus, looking at us and loving us. Because we could quite easily find ourselves in this account as the rich man may well be the reason Mark invites us to write our own ending to the story.
Jesus calls us, teaches us the truth of the gospel by Word and holy example, shows us the marks of the reign of God, and bids us follow him in faith. But love, the love from God, is the first word, the last word, and the end of every story. For God’s love in its numberless manifestations in our lives and in our world, we give thanks and praise. We are not only an Easter people, we are also a Thanksgiving people.
Today is the first of our two Stewardship Sundays. And while our reading from Mark may be an unconventional stewardship text, it does show us, I believe, that those who follow Jesus and become his disciples use their gifts, whatever they are, to be people for others, rather than people for themselves. Taken in the broader context of Jesus’ teaching, today’s Gospel points in the direction of the generosity and graciousness that Jesus regularly identifies as the marks of discipleship. And so, the story of the rich young man can serve as a rather imaginative text by showing us how not to be good stewards.
That insight aside, and hoping that I don’t steal Alicia’s thunder, I want to tell you that for me, giving to the mission and ministry of this parish and the wider ministry of the Church is, at its heart, a gesture of gratitude for my life among the community of believers. My parents, my friends in Christ, and more than a few parishioners in Christ Church (Lutheran) in Waterloo taught me that supporting my church financially is an authentic response to the grace we receive in the community of believers, not the least of which is this community of St. John the Evangelist, Kitchener. Here and in all the other parishes and congregations in which I have found home, I have learned that all that we have and all that we are is a gift by God’s grace.
And I am amazed at what this congregation is doing now and what it has done since I first came to know it through my friendship a lifetime ago with the Ven. Cy Ladds. And Cy would be the first to say that his long pastorate here was only a thumbnail of St. John’s 168-year history. By any measure, we are a force for good in this community and, through our Apportionment and our support of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund and our several outreach ministries a force for good in the wider communities of the Diocese of Huron, the Anglican Church of Canada, and globally through the Anglican Alliance.
At the heart of all our work is love, love we have learned through the good news of Jesus Christ. At the heart of our stewardship is thanksgiving for all that has been, for all that is, and for all that is to come.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.
As our parish musician, he provides both support and leadership so that a variety of parish programs can find musical expression and attract participation. When our handbell choir is in season, he is one of our ringers. At parish dinners, he provides popular piano music for the guests to dine by. For both worship services and concerts, he will rehearse and accompany vocal and instrumental soloists from our congregation on piano, organ, or even accordion.
Angus Sinclair was appointed Director of Music of St. John the Evangelist on February 1, 2023. Having graduated in 1981 (Honours B.Mus.) in organ performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, he went on to distinguish himself as a church musician, recitalist and accompanist touring in both Canada and the UK. For over 40 years Angus has served parishes and congregations throughout Southwestern Ontario as director of music. He experiences his present appointment to St. John’s as a welcome homecoming, both spiritually and musically.