In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he encourages them to put on “the whole armor of God” (6:11). It reminds me of a scene in one of my favorite Bible stories about David and Goliath. You know the story: young David carries lunch to his older brothers poker school onlineonline poker tourpoker gratuites sans inscriptionjouer de pokerjeu poker gratuitementstrategie poker onlinetelecharger gratuitement jeu de pokerpoker en ligne 3dsexy pokerworld poker championshipsjeu du pokerpoker en ligne gratuitesjeux de texas holdemlogiciel de poker en lignetelecharger winamax pokerregles poker omahaworld serie pokerworld tour pokerpoker gratuites sans telechargerpoker omaha highjouer poker tour gratuitespoker en ligne gratuites macpoker a jouer gratuitementjouer au poker sans argentjeu streap pokerworld champion pokerjeu poker gratuites macworld of series pokerwinamax pokerjeu 7 card stud gratuitesjeux de poker a telechargercomment bien jouer au pokerregles poker,regles du jeu poker,regles poker holdjeu poker omaha gratuitesle poker online franaispoker online francaisjeu poker online gratuitesjeu pc pokertexas holdem javajeux de pokerjeux online poker tourjeu de poker gratuitstable de poker en ligneregles officielles pokervente de jeu de pokerкомпютри втора употребаpoker gratuitssites poker en lignepoker roomjeux de poker casinopoker gratuites fr who are on the front lines of the war against the Philistines. A huge Philistine, Goliath, comes out of his line of soldiers to challenge the Israelites to send one of their soldiers to fight him…”mano a mano!” And no body moved!
David chastises his brothers for not volunteering. They shoo him off. No body wants to look like a coward before his younger brother! David ends up in front of Saul, the king. After pleading his case with Saul of his worthiness to represent all of Israel in the battle with the giant, Saul relents allowing David to go. But Saul is concerned about Israel’s champion so he dresses David for battle:
I Samuel tells us, “Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and …[he couldn’t move!] in vain he tried to walk…” (17:38-39).
I have this picture of a child in adult’s clothing trying to pick one leg up and then the other. He wasn’t used to the weight or the equipment Saul used for battle. No, David had been in battles but never with Saul’s choice of weapons. He was a shepherd and he had used his hands, his staff, and his sling against the predators that threatened his father’s sheep. He would use those same weapons in his battle with Goliath…and it was enough. The rest is history.
I remember once talking to a group of parishioners about a major fund raising task that lay ahead of us. It was going to greatly tap our resources and the vestry was very nervous…as only vestries can be. A very quiet grandmother in the meeting reminded me that we only needed the Lord’s help to succeed. She said, “Remember David? He didn’t have a college degree in giant killing before he faced Goliath. He succeeded for two reasons: the Lord had need of him and the Lord gave him the resources to accomplish it.” I have never forgotten that wonderful lesson: the Lord gives us the resources we need to face whatever challenge comes our way.
Today begins a new chapter in the life of St. Ann’s. I hope it is a short chapter that is more like a prologue. A month ago I said some things about this when I served as one your supply priests. Some of you were not here so I want to reiterate a few things this Sunday.
The leadership of a great rector, Lisa Hunt, has truly blessed this parish. She is gone but the impact of her ministry is all around us. It is evidenced in the very mortar and brick of this building and her words are carved in stone in front of the property. Her legacy is in part that she left a healthy church to begin her work in a new place, something she had never done. We will continue to keep her and St. Stephens in our prayers as she writes a new chapter in their history.
What is important is we recognize that we have turned the page. You are not quite ready to embark on a new full chapter of mission and ministry because there are some things that need to be accomplished: a time for dealing with the feelings you have over her departure; a profile of this parish needs to be written, which will include Lisa’s contributions as well as the hopes of this parish for future leadership. That will become an invaluable document of the calling process for a new priest. A strong search committee needs to be created and marching orders given by the vestry to it about the kind of person you are seeking; in the meantime, a capital campaign must be completed successfully in order to insure the present use of the parking lot as a source of revenue and a practical necessity for any future church building; and programs need to be strengthened and activities need to be maintained for the purpose of furthering the Lord’s work here.
All of these will take time to accomplish. So we might call this new chapter: a time of transition. I have been asked to lead you for the next year or so. It is my task to work myself out of a job, to be the transitional person to take you to the next level when you call your new rector. I look forward to this year and I look forward to the successful calling of the next person who will lead you onward.
It is tempting to make some reference here to Moses who didn’t get a chance to accompany the children of Israel into the Promised Land, but modesty prevents me from doing so.
These are important and exciting tasks to be accomplished. In many ways we will be challenged and stretched as we seek to complete them. I suspect there will be unhappiness from time to time: with me, with the vestry, or with each other…I have never been in a parish where we didn’t disagree about something…but I have never been in a parish that had as much potential for accomplishing great goals as St. Ann’s. You have an incredible foundation and I rejoice that I am to be part of your life if only briefly.
In the gospel reading this morning (John 5:56-69), Jesus challenges his disciples to be faithful. Apparently many who heard this message decided it was too much for them. He had been speaking of his body and blood being food and drink, all of which was anathema to the Jews. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter answered him, “Lord to whom do we go? You have the words of eternal life” (v.67, 68).
For the disciples Jesus was the only real game in town because despite the difficulties of following him, he held the one thing that made everything else worthwhile: life in abundance. They experienced it when they were with him. They came alive because he taught them what the Father was calling them to do. He empowered them so that they were able to do miraculous things in God’s name. They were on fire with his love that burned within their hearts. No, they would not leave him for he held the key to life itself.
That’s what we are about here. We are called to be the community of faith that is on fire with the love of the Lord. The key to success of any venture we enter is whether the Lord is part of it. We are all important here. It is not the clergy who are the church. You are the church and together we will do the ministry God is calling us to do.
Over the door of the priest’s sacristy at St. George’s there is a plaque that reads, “There be dragons.” I thought about that many times as we went through the difficulties that have plagued our whole church. There be real dragons out there in the world: poverty, injustice, prejudice, intolerance, and fear. But there be dragons within the community of faith that mirror much within the world: intolerance, injustice, prejudice, and fear.
There is not a person here with a degree in giant or dragon killing. We have challenges ahead of us but I believe the Lord has need of you and of me as members to be his body, the church. The Lord has need of faithful voices that believe in mercy, compassion,
and unconditional love. These have never been the currency of the world but they are the only remedy of a world gone mad with fear and hatred.
If we trust the leading of the Lord, then the Lord will provide us with strength to carry our mission forward in this place during this period of transition. We will build on the foundation established by all those lay and clergy leaders who went before us in this place.
The Lord has need of all of us during this period. May God give us the courage to commit our lives even more deeply that this parish will not fail in her mission. Remember Paul and put on the whole armor of God that we might withstand all that the enemy of faith throws against us that we might persevere to the end.
Amen
The Rev. Dr. W. Robert Abstein
Interim Rector, St. Ann’s, Nashville
