Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (Fr. Robinson)

Did you watch the Illinois/Michigan game yesterday? We watched it on television.  It was an exciting game, but not nearly as exciting as last week’s game.

Last week Linda and I actually went to the Illini/Purdue football game.  Roger and Sarah Burrus invited us. The game started at 2:30. We parked at the church and walked a couple of blocks where we got on an express bus.  Like most all of the fans, we were wearing our orange Illini T-shirts. 

The express let us off just a block from the stadium. We got off the bus and within sight was a parade. It was the Illini Marching Band!  How lucky could we get?  So before walking to the stadium, we stood and waited for the band.  We were probably within 5 feet of the closest band members as they walked by.  The drum majors with their batons led the way, then came cheerleaders and other acrobats, and then came the band.  It’s a huge band!  And they made a huge sound! The flutes marched by, and then the clarinets and saxophones, lots and lots of trumpets, and then finally the tubas.  I counted 25 tubas!

I have to say, it was thrilling to watch that band march by as they made their grand entrance into the arena.  If you didn’t know anything about football and what to expect in the stadium, just watching that band march on their way to the stadium would put your expectations into the stratosphere. This was going to be quite a show!

The visiting Purdue team entered the stadium to the booing of the crowd.  Then the Illini came in, and the crowd roared its appreciation.  They clearly were the favorites!

It was a great game!  By the end of the first half, it was pretty clear that the Illini would win the game.  During halftime, the marching band gave a stunning performance, after which the two teams entered again, ready for combat, but this time, things were different.  Purdue quickly made up for a weak beginning and by the end of the second half the score was tied, 43 to 43.  They went into overtime, the Illini scoring the first touchdown, followed by completing a field goal, making the score 50 to 43. Then Purdue got a touchdown and were poised to tie it up once again, but instead of kicking, they decided to run the field goal which would have won the game for them.  But they didn’t make it and so Illinois won the game 50 to 49 and the crowd went wild.

From start to finish, the game was like a huge drama of which even we in the stands were a part. The stars were the players, of course.  Everyone was wearing clothes that fit their part. It had a plot. But the exciting part of the plot was that no one knew exactly how it would turn out.

Have you ever thought about our corporate worship of Almighty God as a kind of drama?  It really is, you know.  Just like the football game, we are participants in the drama.  In this drama of worship, we hear of how God has acted with his people in ages past as members of the Body of Christ read portions of scripture.  We hear a rousing sermon from a priest who has been ordained by God to proclaim his Word.  Sometimes we may even be moved by the scripture readings and sermon.  We remember all those in need in prayer and we recall how we have failed in being faithful in the past, after which we are given absolution.  Finally, we present bread and wine to be offered on the altar, and then we reenact Jesus’ sacrifice, as if we are actually at the cross as well as at the empty tomb.  The climax of the drama is when we go forward to the altar ourselves and receive God into our lives anew through the Body and Blood of Christ.

It’s a drama unlike any other.  Everyone present is an actor—an actor, not as one playing a role but as one who acts.  There is passion, humor, human failing, and human victory.  I don’t know about you, but I am often moved by what happens in our worship.  Just as I was really excited about the thought of going to the game a week ago, as Sunday draws near, I get excited about our getting together. Through it all, God is active, and his redemptive power is at work.  From that great drama we go out and do the work of the Church—educate our children and youth in the faith, proclaim the Gospel to those who haven’t heard it, and serve those who are in need.

It is the divine drama of which we are a part.   It has tremendous consequences, eternal consequences, not only for us, but also for all of humanity.

I give thanks for this community of faith, for what it has meant for past generations for over a hundred years, and for what it will mean for generations to come.  But most of all, I give thanks for each one of you, for your faithfulness, your generosity, your passion for the work of our Lord Jesus Christ in this place and at this time. 

Today we’re starting the stewardship season that will end with the Ingathering of pledges on 17 November.  As you think and pray about your gift to Emmanuel in 2025, think about what a great blessing we all have to be able to be here Sunday after Sunday, holy day after holy day, and whatever you decide to give, I hope it is in a spirit of thanksgiving for all of us being able to be part of this great drama of redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ.