A sermon preached by Bishop Bill Burrill as part of the St. Andrew's centenary celebration in 1990

Living the Good News

Mission

It's a pleasure to be here at St. Andrew's. Part of the fun of being bishop is that you are always in different places all the time. The Episcopal Church is very much the same wherever you go - we have the one prayer book - but the choreography radically differs from place to place. You get very used to that as a bishop. It's the choreography that makes the Episcopal Church fun. It's also the choreography that gets most Episcopalians uptight and that kind of says something about the fact that we ought to move around more often - we might be a little looser.

When I was invited a year or two ago to come here we chose this time because as many of you may know the House of Bishops just finished meeting - we met this whole last week in Washington. Being in Washington partly because we are ending the building of the Cathedral. The House of Bishops last met there when the ground was broken to build the Cathedral. Whatever else we do we come for the beginning and the end. I have been invited to be with you today and tomorrow and Tuesday to explore with you the theme which you have chosen, by whatever process I know not, "Living the Good News".

Now I like that phrase because it didn't say accepting the Good News or following the Good News or believing it which are more or less passive type words but it said living. I've decided one of the problems with the Church is that we see ourselves as sort of passive - the very way we have set it up - there are a few of us up here who are going to do things and you all sit there like in an audience and you will be passively dealt with and you will like it or not like it. Even our architecture reflects a passivity amongst at least most of the baptised - a few round collars and other chosen souls get up front and perform. So you see our architecture right from the beginning sets us up for some unfortunate ways of looking at the Church.

Now I'm also aware of the fact that I can preach sheer heresy in these next three days and that wouldn't upset you nearly as much as if I moved the pews [laughter]. Its good to hear that - I said to Kay you know you never know when you go to a strange place - do they have a sense of humour or not. How will they respond to various things - you never know and I will enjoy it more and more as I get into Monday and Tuesday. Speaking of which Episcopalians of course are trained to come to Church on Sunday - more or less - they are not good at Mondays and Tuesdays. Now if I'm coming here and I'm putting my time in to be here with you on Monday and Tuesday evening I expect you to be here Monday and Tuesday. Today I'm setting up - today is the theological piece. Monday and Tuesday is the so what - what are we going to do about it ? So, if you only come for today and aren't here Monday and Tuesday I'm going to be ticked.

All right. "Living the Good News". Well we might ask ourselves right from the beginning - what is the Good News ? If we are going to live it then we had better know something about it. I would suggest that we can best approach this in a very quick and simple way. The Good News is what we believe as Christians is the answer to the basic human problem. Next question : what is the basic human problem ? Well, the Old Testament over almost a thousand years of history and you have to realize - here we are a nation two hundred and seven years old and the Old Testament was written over a thousand years - an amazing span of human experience and what you have to oversimplify the Old Testament is the Hebrew people coming to wrestle with who they are, how they relate to the creator of this incredible thing called life, and what they are supposed to do with their lives. That's really the whole purpose of the Old Testament. The Old Testament quickly becomes convinced (and you see it in various places) that the basic human problem is what they call sin.

Now, better watch out for that word because after Puritanism and the American scene sin is very narrowly understood. Sin in our culture means naughty and usually sexually naughty you see. But that's not what the Jews meant, not that they didn't see that as part of the human problem, but sin for the Jew is a very much deeper and broader problem than just being immoral in certain narrow areas. For the Jews sin meant the fact that they experienced themselves separated and alienated from one another and from God. They experienced that in many ways. The prophets are always raising up why is it that we fall so short of what God is calling us to be. Why are we at such odds with each other ? Isaiah today : when God comes we'll take these swords and beat them into ploughshares. Swords - violence - are merely symbols of a divided and alienated people and as human beings we usually focus in on the problem rather than adapt(?) to the problems.

In America now we are having a large problem with crime. We tend to want to solve the problem by hiring more police officers and more judges and facing the problems of rape, robbery, murder. We rarely look at why people are acting that way. Why are people so alienated and so angry that they turn to violence and prey upon one another. The Jew was very conscious of the fact that sins are rooted in sin - this basic alienation that human beings feel. And it's not just a national problem or a problem outside - it's within every family. Most murders in the USA occur within family units. It's not the Mafia it's us. It's nice to focus on somebody out there. The drug problem is the same thing. You see we have now deluded ourselves that the drug problem is a few naughty people bringing cocaine into the country. The drug problem is alcohol and nicotine and something that is widespread through the culture.

We can get our mind of that if we look at certain sins. The Old Testament over and over again said that the basic problem is not the sins. Lord knows you can't avoid those as a problem. It's this basic deep sense of alienation in the human heart. Alienation that occurs right within family units. It's something that is pervasive and it haunts us to this day. The Jews said if God really cares about us then God will show us a way to overcome the basic sin that afflicts us. So you have for centuries the developing of the law. Brilliant, brilliant and we are still people of the law. I don't know how many people here are lawyers but its an incredible percentage and I don't even know you all yet. The lawyers now are going to think I'm after them and I'm not really after them. But why do you have laws ? You have laws because we obviously aren't living together too well. We had no traffic laws till we had cars. Then we kept running into each other so we had to have laws. We have lots of laws now to deal with the fact that we are fairly irresponsible given cars.

So law starts rather simply. Ten Commandments : thou shalt not do certain things. Human beings being basically alienated and angry at each other find ways around the laws therefore you need lawyers because then you need to have legislatures to develop more laws. In the state of New York, and we are better than most states, we have enough laws that we can stack them on the floor here and they would be up to about here. Then you need lots of lawyers to interpret all the laws to deal with all the problems by which human beings keep hurting each other. But you see what happens with the Jews. They started with ten, they end up with 613 laws in the Old Testament which any good Jew must know and obey. Well you can see that is getting to the point where it doesn't work - not a whole lot of people can remember 613 laws and even if you could we would quickly find a way to get around them.

Come back to the traffic laws. We have all sorts of traffic laws about not speeding - we now invent little fuzzbusters. Ahha now we'll make laws against fuzzbusters. You all know what a fuzzbuster is I trust - that little gizmo that you all who drive too fast on the beltway put in your car. Why do you do that - because it is a way around the law ! So they have to find a new law. So what the Jew discovered is that law, although it is necessary, and it is important, and it is a noble attempt, never solves the problem. You can pass all the laws in the world and it does not cause people to love one another. It may keep them from murdering each other although normally in anger people do not say : now which law am I going to break if I do this ? The whole idea of law and order ultimately doesn't go anywhere because it never gets down to the depth of the human problem which is that sense of alienation - that sense of being separated - that sense of not having a sense of worth viz a viz others and God.

So the Jew says if law doesn't work then God must come in some other way and make known to us the answer. Thats the whole developement of the Messiah understanding. The Messiah idea is that if God cares then there will be a chosen one - the Messiah, Christ (same word Hebrew and Greek, means the one who is anointed, chosen). That's why we now anoint people at baptism - chosen by God - anointed. So God's anointed one will come and show us the way. Now we are here this morning because we as Christians believe that Jesus is that one. Jesus is the one sent by God to show us the way and we could spend hours and hours talking about the various ways that we understand that.

A very simple one: in the Jewish temple - which was about the size of this Church - there was a wall that separated the people from the holy of holies, it was a symbol of that sense of separation and alienation. Once a year the high priest went behind that wall, for what ? - the sacrifice of atonement - at-one-ment. Trying to see if there wasn't some way to establish a oneness with God because we know we separated ourselves by the very way in which we live. Notice what it says when Jesus dies on the cross, what happens ? The veil of the temple is torn apart. Now I don't know what happened in the temple - I don't worry about that all that sort of literalism - I know what the writer is saying that those who have come to know Jesus Christ know that separation to be destroyed. That in ways, that in a sense always go beyond human language, Jesus is the one who breaks down the separation and alienation.

He did it all through his life. With the Samaritans, the woman taken in adultery. Jesus was always breaking down walls that separated people. This often threatened people - people like walls. We like to be behind walls, you feel safe behind walls. So that at the moment we are overjoyed about the Berlin wall coming down but I could attack a number of other walls you wouldn't like to see come down. There is a security behind walls even though it separates and alienates. So we sing on Easter that Jesus has won the victory - sin has been overcome. The language of the Easter hymns, we have destroyed that barrier, peace - all the lessons today were about peace. Peace doesn't just mean the absence of hostility, peace means harmony, living together in love and we believe that Jesus is the one who shows the way to peace.

Somebody once said that you could look at all of creation as a five act play. Act 1 is creation, the beginnings. Watch it again, act 1 keeps on going all the way through the play. Don't get too literal on me, if you do that you'll have real problems. Act 2 is revelation, Old Testament, becoming aware of the problem. Act 3 is Jesus Christ, the climax. In any good classical play the climax is in the middle. TV now puts the climax at the end so you will watch the whole thing. Act 3 in any Shakespearean play is the climax. Act 1 and act 2 build up to it. It happens, Jesus is the decisive event of human history. The victory has been won and act 4 is then what comes of the victory - that is us. Act 5 is conclusion, the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, whatever phrase you like to use for that ultimate, perfect harmony of all human beings, one together and with God. We live in act 4 and it's crucial to know that. A lot of people don't know where they live and when they live. We baptized people live in act 4 and it's our task, our mission, to carry out what Christ has accomplished in act 3. We are the body of Christ. We are those baptized into a community that exists in time and space to bring about that victory which Jesus Christ has won.

Now you might say : if he has won it why do we have to do it ? I'll take you back to World War II. You may remember World War II, I think most of you are old enough to although I have now discovered that there are an awful lot of young people that don't know when it occurred. Are you aware that 52% of the seniors in high school in America cannot identify Franklin Delano Roosevelt ? So I worry about World War II. I would suggest to you that the decisive event of World War II was D-day. Once D-day was accomplished there was no doubt who was going to win. If the Germans had been able to throw the Allied forces back into the Channel I think a whole different scenario could have happened with World War II. So the decisive event, the victory was truely won on D-day and yet as we all know many, many months of very difficult warfare still followed.

Jesus Christ is D-day, the victory is won. There is still a lot of battling going on, a lot of carrying out what has occurred in Jesus Christ. That's our chance, that's our mission. One of my good friends Fred ?, the bishop of Los Angeles has said "the Church exists because that mission exists". The only reason we have to exist as a Church is because the victory of Jesus Christ needs to now be made real. Made real in the lives of human beings. So we, the baptized, exist with an incredible purpose, we have been called, chosen, so that the victory of Christ may be made known to, and be real to, absolutely every single human being so that ultimately there can be a truely harmonious human community.

Problem. Most Episcopalians don't see that as why they are in Church. Most Episcopalians and I would say Presbyterians, Lutherans, Roman Catholics - most American Christians - I'm not sure why they think they are in Church to tell you the truth. I always puzzle about it, about why are people in Church ? But as I see it they are in Church with some sort of customer mentality. They have shopped around, more often than not, and they have decided that this place fills my needs I guess. Now, of course, if that is why you are here then you are always a little restive, always a little unhappy about the fact that it could fill my needs better. Or the fact that not all of us have the same needs. So I suggest to you that all too often in the Church people think that the Church exists to serve its members.

Bishops spend a lot of time helping congregations choose rectors so I know what they are looking for. They are looking for somebody who will come and serve us. Take care of us. Customer mentality you see. That's not healthy. What it does is basically look in on ourselves and it creates the worst form of parochial model. The model that exists for the people inside the walls. All too many Episcopalian churches live with that mentality. Now I know just enough about St Andrew's to know that you are beginning to move out of that mentality. I've seen some evidence of that. I think a lot of Episcopalian churches are. But you have to realize where we start, many of us. We end with what I would call the parochial model rather than the mission model of the Church.

Let me explain that for a second. Parochial model says this place St Andrew's eLet me explain that for a second. Parochial model says this place St Andrew's exists for the members of St Andrew's. Notice somehow that you can get in little squabbles about who can use the property. It's our property you see and will we really let them use our property sort of discussions at the vestry. Don't know anything about your vestry - may never have discussed it. Today when I take shots I may not be hitting you. I don't know you that well but in most Episcopalian churches there is that tension about the members versus the outsiders because we really believe the church exists for its members. I suggest to you that we, the Church - the Church is each one of you - exists to serve the world. That's why we exist and the clergy exist to help us learn how best to do that, to tie us into the historical tradition, and to nourish us with word and sacraments so that we can go out and do the work of the church.

Its kind of like a football team - let's take the University of Maryland since we seem to be there. I don't know the coach of the University of Maryland but if he is like all other coaches then his primary task is to help that group of highstrung, very aggressive, athletes to focus on the game because they have to spend 5 or 6 days each week practising. I have been an athlete and I've been a coach and I can assure you that the problem is that most athletes don't like to practice. That's true of us. Because practice is hard - you run laps, pushups, situps - its basically painfull, its no fun. People who think that jogging is fun - I worry about people like that. Anyway, if you only practiced and never played the game, can you imagine how difficult it would be to be coach ? You would never be able to maintain the discipline of the team if all they ever did was practice because the way you get them to practice is you say that next week we have got to play whoever - and they are good and we have got to get our act together and practice hard.

Problem. The Episcopal Church is like a football team that never plays the game. We do a lot of practicing. You are here this morning to practice. And notice what happens with a football team that never plays a game, they end up bitching about practice sessions. The Episcopal Church, because we are not focussed in mission we end up continually critiquing the practice sessions. Episcopalians really think that God cares whether it is rite 1 or rite 2. Or whether it is the traditional words of the Lord's prayer or the contemporary words of the Lord's prayer - God couldn't care less. Why are we so concerned about that - because we are focussed in on the practice sessions. Because we aren't focussed on the game. Once you are focussed on the game practice sessions are good and are worth doing and you get a sense of worth out of them but the reason they are good is that you know they get you ready for the game.

The parochial model of the Church : the Sunday School; the Altar Guild; the Choir and all this sort of thing, all of those exist so that we can do the mission. A lot of Episcopal churches never get to the so what. You want to see how that is manifested ? It is manifested in your budgets. Most Episcopal churches - 80-90% of the budget is spent on running the parochial mission - the practice sessions. Now I'm aware that you have moved from 11% to 17% in terms of mission - thanks be to God - but Episcopal Church said at general convention that 50-50 is the standard. The mission has got to be at least as important as the practice sessions or why are we doing it. You say that and most vestrys say crazy, can't be done. Part of my purpose in these 3 days is to show you not only that it can be done but it will make this place the most exciting, alive, joyful, group of human beings on the face of the earth. Rather than a group of people who tend to spend their time critiqueing the practice sessions.

You all look like a fairly active group - I don't think I'm talking to a group of people who spend all their time complaining but you do have to know, if you don't know, in the Episcopal Church we have various magazines - "The Living Church" is an Episcopal magazine. It is nothing but a series of letters complaining - that's what it is. It manifests an amazing attitude in the Episcopal Church that somehow or other we have to continually critique the practice sessions. I would really say on that subject for Heaven's sake enjoy all the various forms of practice. If you don't enjoy all the parts of the prayer book that's sad - you are missing something. It's like only liking Mozart and never wanting to hear any Bach or Beethoven. How sad if you can't include this wealth of experience in terms of how to make parochial life grow.

So St Andrew's now as I understand it is entering the second 100 years. I think you along with many churches in this Episcopal Church are beginning to awaken to the fact that we have lost touch with the mission. There are a lot of historic reasons for that - we used to think that mission was what happened in China and Africa. Quite honestly they don't want us now. Kay and I spent 2 weeks in China. That Church is so alive it has doubled in size in the last decade. We kept saying to them why is the Church in China growing, what are you doing ? We are about to enter the decade of Evangelism - we want to pick up some clues. They looked very puzzled because they are not doing anything consciously. They said well two things. First, they said we don't know how to explain this to you because you have not experienced persecution - that's an interesting comment because persecution does make you aware of what is important. Persecution has always been good for the Church, always, historically. Many people may have suffered but the Church came alive always in times of persecution. It's happened again in China.

Secondly, they said the Church in China is growing because of the love of God. Well, we all said right, sure, tell me more. Then they would tell stories and all of the stories had something to do with what I would call mission. Example : a simple little example from a town way out in the western part of China, very rural, very isolated. We met a young woman from the Beijing theological seminary who came from that village and when I asked why is the Church growing in your village ? She said well I don't really know but let me tell you a story. She said in our village was a man, and almost all the people in that village were farmers, who was injured and he could no longer farm and of course China has no unemployment insurance and social security system and all that. If you can't earn a living you are in big trouble. She said we in the small Cristian community decided that God called us to serve that person, to minister to this person and his family's needs. So we chose within the church to each give a percentage of our crops to this man and his family. The man was not a Christian. She said, almost with surprise, because we did that many people wanted to come and find out why we were so motivated.

Why was it ? The hymn says they will know we are Christians by our love. But they will only know that when we truely focus on that word. I think it is a question for St Andrew's now what is your mission and I know you have been working on that and doing some good work. What is your mission, what is your unique call ? You are a part of the (?) community and it has a mission. You are part of the Episcopal church of the diocese of Washington and it has a mission. What is your unique mission as a parish ? Is it the University ? You have got to realize that I'm prejudiced, I was 20 years a college campus minister. It would be hard for me to imagine a parish living this close to a major university that doesn't have a mission to that place. It would be hard for me to understand that. When I say this place I don't mean just the students who are the kind of passers-by but particularly the faculty and staff - that's the core of the university. How does this parish proclaim the Good News to this interesting, fascinating institution in your midst.

I know you are doing many good things. I know you have moved into the homeless need. I would hope that whatever comes of this mission, these three days, all of you will seek works seriously. What is the mission of this parish and then secondly what is my mission as an individual, what is my mission ? We have said that the mission of St Andrew's is God's mission of reconciliation, of bringing piece to a divided and alienated world. That's also my mission and your mission. I do it in my family, I do it in my neighbourhood, I do it in the larger community. What is my call as a baptized Christian, what is my mission ? My guess is that it will be focussed in the problems of the day. Racism, sexism, another one I've just learnt about adultism.

Adultism - I'll just give you a quick clue to this one since you don't know it probably. Adultism is an American idea that only people between 21 and 65 are fully human. We do it all the time. We abuse people under 25 and over 65. The culture does it in all sorts of ways. That's a sign of alienation. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the ways we deal with children in this Church are basically adultism. We have only got a few children in here now because why ? because if we had them in here they would bother us. Maybe we need to be bothered. What is it that suggests that church is supposed to be this boring adult occasion ? The reason that children misbehave in church is because it is boring. Adults don't misbehave - they doze off. So maybe we have a mission here to recover the children. Isn't it interesting that in the Episcopal Church most children when they get to their teenage years get out as fast as they can. Wonder why ? Most people don't like to be abused. We think of child abuse only in terms of those terrible headlines in papers, maybe we are a part of this, right here in this wonderful place. The same with people over 65. We abuse them in many, many ways. Maybe that is part of the mission of this church and each of us individually.

So, mission is what we have been called to. The church exists as Fred (?) said because the mission exists. In these three days together I want to tomorrow and Tuesday to explore how we do it. We are identifying the theological basis. Baptism has given you the two things you need in life : identity and purpose. You are a child of God, you have been made new in Christ, you are unique and loved, every single person. That's Good News. Secondly you have been given a purpose. That's what we need : identity and purpose.That's why a lot of us have trouble retiring - the purpose gets pulled out. That's why a lot of us have trouble letting go of our children. For 20 years that's been my purpose and I can't let go. I was a college chaplain for 20 years. The single largest problem of these young people in all these places is how to get free from their parents and still love them. Its tough because we can't let go. Because our purpose is narrowly defined. The purpose of Jesus Christ is as broad as the world, it's the purpose of reconciliation and God has called each and every one of us in this place to that mission.

The parochial model is always a model of anxiety, there is always problems inside the (?). The roof always leaks if nothing else. If you are focussed in on the parochial model you will worry about building and grounds most of the time. Watch your vestry meetings, where most of the time goes. If you are focussed on mission you are focussed on the world. The difference is that the parochial model is anxiety, the mission model is sheer joy. We can (?) you see to mission. God so loved this world that God has acted in the person of Jesus Christ and called each of us baptized people to be proclaimers of that Good Newsby word and need.

In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.