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November 12, 2007
The Rev. Canon Grant Carey
Proper 27 - Year B
I have discovered a reality - - something I had already known about but hadn’t really experienced until recently. And that is that growing older has both advantages and disadvantages - - something I am sure that none of you here today have ever experienced!
The advantage is that one vividly remembers things from the past.
The disadvantage is that one easily forgets things in the present.
There is a wonderful story I am sure you have already heard. It goes like this: A woman was on her knees dusting the bottom of the coffee table when her daughter entered the room. “Mother,” she said, “what are you doing on your knees dusting the coffee table?”
“Well, dear,“ she said, “I was looking for something and forgot what it was, so as long as I was down here, I thought I might as well be doing something useful.”
What I do notice is that I can recall events and people that, in the business of life, I have tended to forget. And one memory in relation to this week-end is what it was to celebrate Armistice Day when I was a child living in the then little town of Auburn. It was a special day for me for not only was it my birthday . . . but it included a parade.
And what a parade is was!
The Placer High School band, … veterans marching (and in those days the vets - - who are now gone from this earth - - were rather young - - and carried the ideal that they had helped save the world tyranny.)
There were floats on the back of trucks - -
a woman dressed as the statue of liberty - -
and ladies from the temperance society from the Methodist Church (I don’t think, however, they greatly influenced the men watching the events since by then Prohibition had ended and demon rum one had once again reared it ugly head!)
These were heady days for a little boy - - and I am glad that they have returned to my memory bank for they speak of a much more innocent time when, in spite of the great depression that had held the country in its grip, there was a hope and resolve … and a kind of patriotism that was to sustain this nation when we entered the Second World War a few years later.
Armistice Day has given way to Veteran’s Day that, unfortunately, seems to lack the same fervor, joy, and the hopefulness I experienced in 1936.
Of course, we recall today - - as we did then - - the sacrifice of mostly young people who have given their lives in service to their country in far off lands.
Sadly, the “The Great War to end all Wars” didn’t live up to its promise - - and young men and women, and countless civilians - -are still dying. At last count, 2,838 men and women of our armed forces have been killed, and 21,531 have been wounded physically and emotionally - - something I need hardly remind us about - - and yet something we must not lay aside as we celebrate this holiday dedicated to remembering and honoring our Veterans.
When I was in seminary, my professor of homiletics (a church word for preaching) advised us to be Gospel Preachers, - - that is, to communiucate the basic teaching of the Gospel appointed for the day while drawing upon the other appointed lessons as they applied to the theme expressed the collect for the day.
This day in the Church’s year calls upon us to open our hearts and minds to the One who came into the world to destroy the works of evil - - the kind of evil that, in the words of the Baptismal Covenant, “corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.”
So how does the Gospel we heard relate to memories of Armrestice Day of the past and the reality of the Veteran’s Day of the present?
The old lady in the story makes her offering to God - - two small copper coins - - something Jesus reflects on as: “out of her poverty, she has put in everything she had.”
While Jesus shows contempt for people who make a show of their wealth and position - - his focus is on the meaning of sacrifice - - a sacrifice that is not commanded, but which comes from the heart. It is not the act so much as it is the motive that counts.
I believe that this is a lesson for our time, and one for each one of us to ponder when we consider the sacrifices made today in far off lands, and the sacrifice that is commended to us.
Our consciences cannot help but be pricked … if we allow them to be.
A couple of weeks ago when reading the Daily Office, I was struck by Jesus words as remembered by Saint Luke. And even though I had read and heard them many times, they jumped off the page; it seemed as if Jesus was saying: This is what it really means to follow me.
I want read to them from a translation that seems to cut right to the heart:
“I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You’ll never, I promise – regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we’re at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.
“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults - - unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back - - given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”
So at this very special time … as we recall sacrifice and self-giving:
“May the words of our lips and the meditation of our hearts always be acceptable to you, O Lord our strength and our Salvation. Amen.”
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