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6th Sunday after Pentecost

The Good News Written

A meditation from the light of Frances W. Foulks

“O Thou Christ of God within me, shine forth thy light continually on my path, that I may not turn aside. Be thou my guide every moment of every day… Give me courage! Give me strength! Give me faith! Give me love and patience and tolerance! I would follow all the way. I would cling to thy glorious presence until I too become glorified and a shining light in [the] world. So let it be for me… and for whosoever else may seek [the] inheritance of the All-Good.”

Luke 10.1-3, 8-9 (NRSV)

¹After this [Jesus] appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. ²He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into [the] harvest. ³Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The [commonwealth] of God has come near to you.’”

The Good News Proclaimed

Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, July 4, 2010.

The narrative of the founding of this nation, that is, the United States of America has a few wrinkles to the 21^st century mind.

We can’t help but recall that there were already native inhabitants of North America before European colonizing powers seized their lands and exploited their resources.

And while we celebrate the colonies boldly seceding from the British Empire, we can’t help but ask ourselves, “What would happen if Florida decided to declare its independence from the United States today?” I’m guessing the US Government would respond in much the same way King George III’s government did, but much more swiftly and with much deadlier force. I am certain Floridian independence would be short-lived.

Of course, we also know that the free country that was established in the 18^th century was only free for some…women were denied the right to vote, and the evil practice of chattel slavery was practiced.

But for all the imperfections, the idea of freedom was appealing; and because the idea of freedom remains appealing, we find the denial of freedom appalling.

For all the ways our founders fell short in their practice of true democracy, they still somehow intuited that it was fair and right and moral and noble to at least speak the language of equality, justice, and opportunity. And if they could consistently hold up the ideal of liberty, then the day would surely come when the vision would become a reality.

I don’t suggest that we have lived fully into that vision yet, but it remains a worthy vision all the same, and if we will keep the vision, the vision will keep us until at long last our ideals and our experience will be one.

The American dream has often been confused as a quest for materialism; but the original American dream was a dream of liberty and justice for all people…and until we really believe that all means all, then we must continue to work to keep that dream alive and to dream it into reality. And I trust that the Canadian dream, the Swedish dream, the Israeli dream, the New Zealand dream, and the Japanese dream are each at their best the dream of equality, justice, and peace. That is the dream that the whole world must dream and then bring that dream to our waking, daily lives.

That’s why today Metropolitan Community Churches everywhere, including Sunshine Cathedral MCC, continue to work for marriage equality, adoption equality, universal access to quality health care, equal protection under the law in times of peace and times of war, as well as working to assure that the times of war are few and far between.

Sunshine Cathedral and Metropolitan Community Churches everywhere are called to denounce racism, even when and perhaps especially when we discover it in our own midst and in our own hearts.

Sunshine Cathedral and Metropolitan Community Churches everywhere are called name sexism and sexist language, even when that sexist language is disguised as religious language.

Sunshine Cathedral and Metropolitan Community Churches everywhere are called to reach out to the countries of all six of our planet’s inhabited continents, so that every person in every part of the world will know that they have sacred value…whether they call themselves Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Agnostic or Druid…all people are children of that benevolent Presence that we in many traditions call “God.”

MCC is now in North America and South America, Asia and Europe, Africa and Australia. We exist as small groups, online communities, rural parishes, and resplendent cathedrals. And all to continue to keep a vision of justice, empowerment, and the affirmation of the sacred value of all people…and as we keep the vision, the vision will continue to keep us and it will keep more and more people in our world.

We’re not talking about politeness or political correctness…we are talking about justice (the old fashioned biblical word for justice is “righteousness”). We aren’t talking about being trendy, we are talking about the right-use-ness of our words and our resources and our time and our efforts.

In the gospel lesson today, Jesus casts a vision. He says, “Let’s send out laborers into the harvest!” The harvest was an apocalyptic image meant to suggest a time when injustice would be weeded out and goodness would be reaped in every life. Let’s get to work to pull up the weeds of injustice wherever they exist and begin to harvest hope and healing in people’s lives, right now.

Jesus isn’t naïve, however. He knows that insisting our language recognizes the sacred value of men AND women, of people of all races and nationalities, of same-gender loving and opposite gender loving people will disturb the comfortably complacent. And worse, Jesus knows that to challenge homo-hatred and misogyny and violence will cause fierce resistance from those who have benefited from the status quo. But even though there are risks, he still says, “I’m sending you out as lambs among wolves.” You’ll be criticized. You’ll be vilified. You’ll be misunderstood. You’ll be insulted. You’ll be abandoned. You’ll be betrayed. You’ll be attacked. There are risks and costs involved to support this vision and I’m saying, “do it anyway.”

And then he says, “minister to the sick.” Heal them. Cure them. You know what? Homophobia is a sickness…we have some healing to do. Racism is a sickness…we have some healing to do. Classism is a sickness…we have some healing to do. Transphobia is a sickness…we have some healing to do. Self-loathing is a sickness…we have some healing to do. Loneliness is a sickness…we have some healing to do. Greed is a sickness, violence is a sickness, gossip is a sickness, fear is a sickness, hatred is a sickness…we’ve got some healing to do!

And finally Jesus says, “The kin-dom of God is already near you”…it’s at hand. It’s not a typical kingdom or empire, where nobility and royalty and aristocrats get rich and powerful at the expense of the poor. No, the realm of God, the family of God, the kin-dom of God, the community of God is where every person is invited to discover the God in them and to let that divine light shine.

Jesus’ vision is to confront injustice, heal the wounds of injustice, and to remind ourselves that God is already near us, in us, trying in every moment to express through and as us. We don’t always live into that vision, but it’s worth keeping, and as we do the vision will keep us until it becomes our lived experience.

At its best, the American dream, the vision of liberty and justice for all is in harmony with Jesus’ vision. And the vision of Metropolitan Community Churches is certainly an expression of Jesus’ vision. And to support this messianic vision, I laid out a vision for Sunshine Cathedral at the end of 2007. It was building on the proud accomplishments of the Cathedral’s past while not being content to merely celebrate the past. The pastoral vision for Sunshine Cathedral has for two and a half years now been:

1. To promote progressive, positive, and practical spirituality.
2. To build a culture of gratitude and generosity where every active member gives generously of time, talent, and treasure to the work of Sunshine Cathedral MCC.
3. To have over 1000 weekly worshipers in season by 2017.
4. To continue to reach out to South Florida, the Caribbean, the nation, and all parts of the world with our internet and media ministries, our publications, our worship centers and services, and our relationships with various organizations.
5. And to continually improve the quality and accessibility of religious education at Sunshine Cathedral.

Our vision is meant to help Jesus’ vision come true in our lives and in our world. To bring our vision to life we need your prayers, we need your consistent and generous financial support, we need your positive speech and good attitudes, we need your presence, we need you to volunteer in the various areas of ministry and service, we need you to get the word out about who we are and what we are trying to do in the world, in Jesus’ name.

The Harvest is ready, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Overseer of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest. I believe the people of Sunshine Cathedral are and will be such laborers and as we answer Jesus’ call we will bring his vision to life and that is how we will dramatically continue sharing the light the world! Amen.

The Good News Affirmed

I will be a laborer in the harvest for God.

God bless this nation.

God bless every nation.

God bless the Sunshine Cathedral.

God bless my life today.

And so it is!

The Good News Repeated

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – from the US Declaration of Independence

Audio readings and sermon (http://sunshinecathedral.org/sermons/audio/20100704_1.mp3)