11th Sunday after Pentecost (Fr. Guiliano)

I have a good friend who is a pastor in Iowa City. He and I became friends in college, and our careers have run somewhat in parallel ever since. We were exchanging some messages recently, and I noted that it would soon be 100 days since I started here at Emmanuel. He said, “You should celebrate.” I may open a bottle of Champagne later this week and smoke a cigar. But I thought it might be nice to mark this milestone in some way here today, as well as talk about the future. Because it has been a full and exciting 100 days here with you, and we are just getting started. 

Let me lay out a few things I may not have said here in church, but I have articulated in the past to the search committee and vestry. First, I think the best days of our parish may lie ahead of us. We live in a time when it is common to lament the decline of the church and sigh wistfully for the glory days. I don’t accept that God is done with us; there is more that lies ahead. We worship the God who spoke through the prophets, through Isaiah, promising a bright future: 

If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually … you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. 

Across time, every community goes through ups and downs, but the Lord who is present with us is faithful, good, and kind. And he promises great things. We should cherish our past; we must also look to the future with expectation.

A second thought: God is not interested in building up this or any church just for their own sake. Of course, it’s nice to have more people here. But we must take an interest in our neighbors. I mean that expansively. I’d invite you to ponder some questions in the coming weeks. How can Emmanuel and its people bless Champaign and Urbana? How can we make this county a place where God’s light shines? 

How do we help our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Springfield, the wider Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion? How can we be a blessing to this nation and the world? 

These things are not beyond the scope of a congregation like ours. Our church may take a central place in God’s purposes for the world, and his blessing upon us should inspire us to do more for one another and for those around us. The promises of God in our reading from Isaiah are promises of health, life, wholeness, and honor – but they are rewards promised to those who repair, who restore, who seek justice and the common good, who honor God and the freedom of his sabbaths, not in word only, but in deed and in truth.

Let us open our eyes wide and pray that God  shows us how he may use this congregation and all its members to bless and to serve. Renewal in church and society is always possible. And for this reason:

We are not working alone. God issues promises, God call us to labor, God also empowers us and animates us by a vision of his glory and kingdom. He promises to be near us. 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,” say the Psalmist, “and forget not all his benefits.”

He forgives all your sins,
and heals all your infirmities.
He redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness.
He satisfies you with good things,
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

It is the Lord who helps us. 

It is easy to look at the future and be daunted. After all, what do we have to do here? 

Well, we need volunteers in essentially all our ministries: to take two examples, to help with hospitality; or to help with the nursery and children’s church, to raise up another generation. Were you to volunteer for that once a month, it would help immensely, and there are other ways, too. 

We have practical building works ahead. We need to engage in a program of improvements in the Great Hall, the kitchen, our children’s chapel, and essentially the whole Mowry Education Building. It will take intention, planning, and money. 

We need to do things to respond to the needs in our cities; we should do our part in healing our civic wounds and the lack of trust that characterize our politics. 

We are part of a shrinking diocese and denomination, both with their fair share of challenges, in a country where organized religion is failing. We live in an uncertain world, too. Everyday brings new surprises: some delightful, some deeply worrying. 

We could think about that list (or several others) and start to feel like it would be easiest to give up. And, I have to say, were it not for the promise of God I might counsel us to do so. But the Lord Jesus is present in our midst, with the same power, the same calling, the same summons as ever. 

Let me remind you of the true context, the true environment you are in when you enter the church, and when we consider what God call us to do. We have this day come, "to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."

We are surrounded by innumerable helpers; we have drawn near to God himself; we are promised a kingdom that cannot be shaken. How can we refuse to answer God’s call?

The past 100 days have gone quickly. There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes. We are, Lord willing, laying the foundations for a wonderful and inspiring future. I give thanks to God for you, and I pray earnestly every day for the health and growth of this place. I hope you do the same; I urge you to do the same, and think how you may take a part in building our future together.

May the Lord grant us his blessing, guide us into the future he has promised, and help us to show forth his power and glory. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

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