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August 20, 2006
The Rev. Canon James Richardson
Proper 15 - Year B
As you many of you may know, I am the chaplain to the California State Senate. I do have one job left. My duties as Senate chaplain primarily consist of opening each day that the Senate meets with a prayer. Not long ago, I opened the Senate with a prayer to "give us the heart to be patient, kind and generous with each other and all whom we meet." All of the senators dutifully bowed their heads and said "Amen."
A few moments later, though, one of the senators, who will remain nameless, sauntered over to me and asked: "patient, kind and generous - do we have to do all that in one day?" In his case, yes.
Today and next Sunday I am going to give you some parting advice, and the beauty of it is you don't have to do any of this in one day. These are my last two sermons before I leave Trinity, next Sunday will be my last Sunday with you, so I want to leave you with a few things to think about and perhaps act upon in "the fullness of time."
I may as well start where I left off with the good senator: Be "patient, kind and generous with each other" and all whom you meet. Be patient, kind and generous to your friends and family, to the people you work with, to the stressed-out driver in front of you and the guy who jumps ahead of you in the check-out line. Be good to each other. Don't be snippy.
Be Patient, kind and generous with Dean Baker and his family, and with the clergy and staff who work here day in and day out. I want you to know that I believe Dean Baker is pointing in the right direction about where you need to go as a congregation. Being good to each other will help convert this transition into a time of adventure and renewed growth.
I am sorry that I will not be there with you for this next chapter and the reason has to do with Trinity Cathedral's large budget deficit - we have a hole off about $150,000 in an operating budget of about $1.1 million. The deficit was left over from the interim period between Deans. The Vestry and Dean have decided they have little choice but to cut staff, so I have been asked to leave. You have all been very patient, kind and generous toward Lori and myself in the 18 years we have been here and recently as we prepare to leave. Thank you so much for that.
Many of you have asked about my plans - and at the moment I am looking at many opportunities but I am in no rush. I promise to write home to let you know when I find work.
In the time I have remaining with you I want to talk a little about what it means to be a Cathedral. This is a two-part sermon - you get Part II next week. In the gospel lesson this morning, Jesus tells his followers about how those who eat his bread will live forever, and how that bread is really for the whole world not just them.
I would venture that this is truly the mission of the Church - to bring the bread of life to the world - and that cathedrals - this cathedral in particular - is a major instrument of that mission, both in symbol and in fact. This Cathedral is called to bring the bread of life to the world - to give it away, free of charge, no strings attached.
How we do that takes many shapes and many forms.
People come here in many conditions and many walks of life. Not all think of themselves as Christians. Many are feeling spiritually empty or in grief and despair. Some might be students at a nearby university, others might work for the Legislature or in a nearby office building, and others may be living on the street or in a comfortable suburban home. Some may have given up believing in anything at all, except that they heard or saw something that drew them to this amazing cathedral - a sacred place that is uniquely placed to reach an entire region.
What an awesome gift this cathedral is to the world, but it comes with an awesome responsibility for those of you who are called to be its stewards, to give the bread away.
Jesus calls us to bring the bread of life into the world - to feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for the poor in body, mind and spirit. The church that does not engage a hurting and despairing world does not have much reason to exist, let alone much reason to grow. The church that lives in the real world around it cannot help but grow. That engagement starts in inside the cathedral sanctuary and extends outward into the diocese and the community beyond the diocese. Cathedrals - this cathedral - must always keep an outward focus because that is where God's people are.
To heed that call of being an outward focused cathedral requires listening, sacrifice and commitment. To listen requires hearing people who are not yet in the church but hunger for meaning in their lives. For those already in the church, it requires letting go - sacrificing - of ourselves in our time, commitment, and our financial resources.
Many of you are already doing that in big ways and in small - giving much of your time, talent and money. There are great opportunities for giving here - teaching Sunday school classes for our children or working on our Habitat for Humanity house, which by the way could use some new volunteers. Whatever you do, do something.
I want to point out one fact of life at Trinity. Slightly more than half of our families pledge money to the operating budget of Trinity Cathedral. In other words, half of you are carrying the load for the other half. There are no secrets about how we spend the money; the yearly budget is available to all to see, including the salaries of everyone who works here. The Vestry and Treasurer also produce monthly financial reports that are posted on a bulletin board. The money goes to pay for the ministries of this cathedral.
But giving is more than just about financial statements. "Where your treasure is, there will be your heart," Jesus tells us. Where do you want your heart to be? Put your money there. How you spend your money is part of the spiritual life, it is not just about paying the cathedral's bills. It is about how you order the priorities of your life. Are you spending money on things that harm you or your family or the environment? Take a hard spiritual look at your pocketbook.
If your spiritual life is a priority in the ordering of your life, then it is worth giving of the money God has given you to support the ministries of this cathedral. Think of it this way: everything you do and every penny you spend is a prayer. What are you praying for? You will know that by how you spend your money and your time. As the apostle reminds us in the Letter to the Ephesians, be "wise, making the most of the time" given to you - and your money.
Guess what? Our money is not ours to keep. Ultimately, all of us are called to give away everything, including this Cathedral, to people we many not even know.
This Cathedral is not ours to keep. I will soon be leaving, and I am giving to you my part in this wonderful cathedral. Sooner or later, you too will give away your share of this cathedral to the next generation and the generations beyond that. And that is where faith becomes the greatest gift God gives to us: the strength to do things we never thought possible.
If you want to know the meaning of life, it is really very simple: it is about giving everything away. There is no one among us who will not have to give all of it away, sooner or later. What mark do we want to leave in this world? We will make our mark by how we give away what God has given to us, by how we spend our money and how we spend our time. Jesus tells us that the bread he gives us is the one enduring gift we get to keep - everything else is fleeting, everything else we have is on loan to us.
It is in the giving that we live, it is in the giving that we receive the bread of life forever. So, as the letter to the Ephesians declares, be joyful, "making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Amen.
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