“God Is At Work In You”

October 1, 2023: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.

Well, happy 165^th birthday Christ Church!

Today is our Fall Founder’s Fest Sunday, which we will celebrate in the parish hall following the service. We hold this on the first Sunday in October, because we were founded on October 4^th 1858.

While the roof leaks and financial struggles of today can make even the youngest of us feel as though we are old enough to have been at that initial meeting of the parish, what was built then is alive in us now. And this truly is one of the most welcoming, joyous, diverse, and loving congregations to be sure. So, it is no wonder that every single year new people walk in our doors and decide that this will be their spiritual home.

Still, the story of the folks who were there always comes to my heart and mind at this time of year. A few years ago, Richard Lamb (yup Richard, talkin’ about you here)… anyway, he sent to me a brief history of the founding of this church. One of the things that strikes me whenever I think about those earliest parishioners, was how they had faith to plant a church. They built a faith community, initially meeting together in homes on Sundays, and then later in a wooden church they constructed on Liberty Street. That was how Christ Church Bloomfield in the Diocese of New Jersey began.

Then, on a snowy, windy night, Jan 15, 1893, Christ Church burned down. According to some history books of our parish, a parishioner at that time said “I don’t know how it started but when it was finally out, there was little left of Christ Church.”

Well, they knew came to know then, what we knew during the pandemic – the building is not the church… And so, they did not lose faith – they rebuilt.

At that time members of the church had been coming from a wider area, the greater majority of them still being from Bloomfield, but others had moved a bit up the hill to “the Ridge” later Glen Ridge. Montclair wasn’t even a thing then. So, instead of rebuilding in the same spot, they chose to do a new thing. They built in both towns – Bloomfield & Glen Ridge, and created this place with a new name: Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge – this time in that very newly re-named Diocese of Newark, formally the Diocese of Northern New Jersey, which had at one time been a part of the Diocese of New Jersey. Got that all down – two church buildings, in two locations, for a parish that had been part of three dioceses. And yup – we are older than our current diocese – no matter what name you use.

That new church building was dedicated in 1893 – and it is where we sit today – with the line between the towns of Bloomfield & Glen Ridge running right through our high altar. And the church grew and prospered, under the watchful eye of the Rev. Edwin Augustine White who was rector at the time of the fire and rebuild. You can see good old Fr. Eddy on the half shell high up on this wall keeping watch over us. I kinda think he is saying “Only you can prevent church fires!”

I think of those founding members often, not only at this time of year, but as I walk around the nave and chancel reading the dedications carved into wood, marble, or bronze, or etched into the stained glass: names like Caner, Selick, Skillin, Rayner, Tyson, and so many more. There are more modern engravings too, some of whom still are connected to this church like the Brinkerhoffs. If you have never done this – walk around and read all the memorials, take a moment to do it one day.

There is the beautiful engraving on the high altar rail dedicated to those who died in WWII, and signed Tiffany windows dedicated by those who offered the funding for them.

There is also a dedication for The Rev. Albert Zabriskie Gray, a graduate of Harvard, warden of Racine College, and brother of Episcopal theologian and priest, the Rev. George Zabriskie Gray. Father Gray, according to the plaque right here, entered into his first rectorship at Christ Church from 1865-1868, just following the Civil War. What a time it must have been for him, this newbie priest.

And of course, there are the unnamed ones, those whose sweat and muscle were the ones who laid stone and morter, cut and raised wooden beams – these were likely mostly people of color – we remember them too.

These are the ones, and so many more, who followed Jesus in this place. Things were not always easy. There were difficult times and easier times. And now… we are the ones.

We are the ones whom they entrusted with this parish.

And, we are the ones who will pass this parish into the hands of future generations. But…not so fast! We intend to be around for awhile ourselves before that happens, and there is much God is calling us to do. The question is, do we want to do it?

Prior to the pandemic, we were a diocesan success story – a growing and diverse parish moving out of a time of uncertainty and into a brighter future. From 2014 to 2017 our average Sunday attendance grew 42%, and more than 20 were baptized between 2014 and 2019. We had a strong endowment, and reduced our spending from double digits to 5.75%.

After the pandemic we were left a bit like those earliest parishioners after the fire back in 1893. And yet, we knew Christ was asking us to continue our work in the field of God’s creation. Certainly, it would have been understandable in 1893, and in the early days post-pandemic, for us to resonate a bit with both sons of today’s parable we heard from Jesus in the gospel.

So, just to recap, the parable is about this farmer with two sons. He says to one of them “I need you to go into the field today to work.” The kid says “But dad, I’m right in the middle of a video game here, give me a break.” Later on he puts the game aside and does what his dad asked him to do. The dad said to the other kid the same thing, and that kid said “of course dad,” but as soon as he left the house, he got in the car with his buddies and headed down to the beach.

Okay, that isn’t exactly how Jesus told the story, but anyway – he asks these temple leaders which one did as his dad asked. Now, I would argue that the first one needed a remote slapped out of his hand….but, I digress. Obviously…the first one actually spoke and acted truthfully – he truthfully didn’t want to do it, but then he did it. The other lied and said he would, and then he didn’t.

I think the thing that most of us can resonate with here is this feeling of not really wanting to do what we need to do, but doing it anyway.

Think about it, how many of us feel like both these boys when we get home after a long day at work – facing dirty dishes, getting kids ready for bed, or perhaps home work of one’s own or meetings for organizations. You all likely have your own list of things that hit you the moment you walk in your door, and while we attend to them, many of us want to bag it all and head to the beach, watch a movie, or whatever else will allow us to check out for a bit – even while knowing we need to get these things done.

To be clear, Jesus was making a point about the temple leaders, who having been consecrated to serve the people of God, failed to do so, cloaking themselves in the trappings of ministry, but refusing to fulfill the servant part of their role. While not letting those leaders off, let’s take a different look at this parable and ask the question – how did the one son come to know what he truly needed to do? Because sometimes, we need to know ourselves. We need a bit of help making the right choice. We need to know what we are to do because so many are pulling at us for our time.

St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians we heard today, offers us some guidance.

He writes (in part): “…be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…”

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

He could have stopped right there with that powerful statement of who we are as the body of Christ, but then he continues with what was an early Christian hymn, which would have been deeply familiar to those to whom he was writing. Like if I were to say “Rock of Ages cleft for me,” or “Be thou my vision,” you would know it was a hymn, even if taken out of context.

And here is the first part of that ancient hymn:

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus; who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death– even death on a cross…”

St. Paul has more verses of the hymn, and then adds, “Therefore, …just as you have always obeyed me…work out your own salvation … for it is God who is at work in you…”

Writing to an early Christian community suffering from divisions, St. Paul implored them to be of one heart and mind – modeling the humility of Christ’s servant leadership – and recognizing that God is at work in each of them.

The thing is, the difference between the first son and the second wasn’t that one was inherently better than the other – all of God’s creation is good, and neither son wanted to work in the field. It is that the first one was better able to work through the conflict of his inner soul to recognize the right path and do what he was called to do – doing what his father wanted, not what he wanted in the moment.

Lord knows we face a world in conflict. Our nation is divided. Many families can no longer sit at the table with one another. Some faith communities are so divided that denominations are splitting, and local parishes are filled with tension. Internally we may each face conflict too – among competing schedules and priorities, personal decisions that are difficult to make, and financial strains.

In these times we can feel a lot like that second son – committing to the right path, but tossing in the towel and heading to the beach. I suspect our forebears in 1893 standing amid the ashes of the smoldering church building felt a bit the same way at first – as some here may have felt post-pandemic. Let’s just give up and go someplace else – we just don’t have the energy to tackle this again. And to be sure, sometimes God does call faith communities and individuals to do just that – to let go of what was, and to move on to a new beginning in another place.

The thing is though, whether individually or collectively, we can struggle to do the things we know we should be doing, even those things we know are important – family responsibilities, work commitments, and engaging deeply in our relationship with God. And this is why a faith community like ours is so important. And it is the very thing St. Paul was telling us too.

But, if we just look at the English translation, we will miss it. When we hear that we are to be of the same mind as Christ, well, that isn’t exactly what St. Paul was getting at. And the difference is important.

The Greek translated as “having the same mind” really is, as one commentator noted, about “practical wisdom, to know how to act rightly, especially in confusing or complex circumstances…[it is more] the kind of fully embodied wisdom gained over time and experience that is really at stake here… Paul is suggesting a process of communal discernment to strengthen both individual and group decision-making, and he assures them that when they engage it with the mind of Christ, God will be in the midst of them.”[1]

And that communal discernment, that wisdom, it is found in our willingness to listen – to one another, yes, but especially to God – through prayer, fellowship, worship, and humility. Which is another way of saying – listen every day for the voice of God, for God is surely desiring to work through you.

Think about that – God is surely desiring to work through you!

So, what does this mean for us today?

Plenty.

As we celebrate 165 years, we are mindful of those who entrusted this parish into our hands, and of the way in which God was at work in them, and in this community, through their communal discernment of God’s call to them. And that wisdom has been passed down from generation to generation, and now to us.

We will continue that communal discernment into year 166, being open to where God is calling us today. Like those in 1893, we faced an uphill climb standing in the ashes of the pandemic, but by allowing God to work in us and through us, by engaging in a “process of communal discernment to strengthen both individual and group decision-making,” we are now rising from the ashes too – not for ourselves alone, but that we might work the fields of this community and of our world in answer to God’s call.

I said earlier, there is much God is calling us to do here. The question is, do we want to continue to do it?

Today, as we launch our stewardship season, we will have a chance to answer that question. Let us be of that communal mind, discerning God’s will for us here, working out our own salvation, giving over of our life and labor to follow Christ, for it is God who is at work in us.

And with that unity of mind and spirit that we will continue to embody, with our willingness to humbly serve, we will continue to be a balm for a broken world, and an example to those who worship here 165 years from now in 2188.

Amen.

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