Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost As children, we’ve often heard and expressed that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” We may have said it, but we knew it wasn’t entirely true. And children, as darling as they are, can say some pretty mean things. But without a doubt, one of the powers each of us has is the power of the word – our word. And it is not only the spoken word that is powerful. In his play, Richelieu; or the Conspiracy, the 19th century playwright, poet and politician, Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton, wrote, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” True, in a face-to-face encounter with someone with a sword, one may find the pen a bit less than satisfactory, but regarding long-lasting change, a pen creating the written word can make considerable more changes in a world than a sword whose strength is only present when it is pointed at you. Take for example, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The Revolutionary War simply broke our dependence on England. But the words making up that document have formed a country and continue to form our country. Among the many words of power of the priest and prophet Ezekiel of today’s first reading are those from his visions – the vision of God in the first chapter and the vision of the valley of the dry bones especially. But in today’s reading, the word given to Ezekiel is that he is to be a sentinel for the house of Israel. Just what is a sentinel? One common definition is that of a guard whose job is to stand and keep watch. In our reading, Ezekiel is not only to stand and keep watch, he is also to speak the word to his fellow captives in Babylonia, to move from behaviors counter to who they are. For centuries, they have seen themselves a people of God, but their actions have not always reflected that relationship. When are a people of God not a people of God? When they violate their identity as a people in covenant with God When their words that have power bring about actions that do not reflect the substance of their relationship with God When the integrity of living in God’s presence has been drained by violations of the covenant Ezekiel as a sentinel is to stand guard and keep watch. As they move away from their identity as a people of God, his word of power is to call them back. “Don’t forget who you are and live in that identity.” In all four New Testament Gospels, the word ekklēsia, meaning “church,” appears only twice: in the 16th chapter of this Gospel, we hear Jesus say regarding Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and that Jesus will build His church upon this statement, and again in today’s Gospel reading. Here it is in the context of a disagreement among church members. Most scholars see this as not a saying from the life situation of Jesus but from Matthew or his tradition in that it reflects a developing institutional church. Matthew’s Gospel was probably written some 40 or 50 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection; the church was well on its way to being formed by then. But the word of the passage – to be reconciled with another – reflects very much the teaching of Jesus, especially when both are followers of Christ. The church is a people of God. When are a people of God, not a people of God? When they violate their identity as a people in covenant with God When their words that have power bring about actions not reflecting the substance of their relationship with God When the integrity of living in God’s presence has been drained by violations of the covenant
What makes the church a church? The Spirit of Christ living within those baptized into Christ’s Spirit as they fellowship together and manifest the love of God through their relationship with God, with each other, and with others. How does the church grow? The church grows through fidelity in thought, word and deed to the teachings of Jesus; through fellowship with one another as we respond together to the God who gives us life; through the breaking of the bread, uniting us with the presence of Christ to become the presence of Christ; and through prayers, together as a people and in the privacy of our own lives – prayers that open our hearts and minds no matter what our feelings or thoughts are to that Mystery which is inescapably present. As a people of God, we are to be sentinels of the Presence of Christ, standing and watching in a world of countless challenges. Like Ezekiel, we are to speak a word of power to encourage others to know their value and the value of each and every human life and of the world of which we are a part. In a sense, Ezekiel could do this more simply than we, because he shared with his listeners a common identity of a specific people, the exiled community of Judah. We, on the other hand, encounter daily people with different value systems than ours and different philosophies than ours. So how can we speak the word of power which is at the heart of who we are as a Christian people? We can’t try forced conversions – that unfortunately has been a part of the Christian Church’s past. May we never mess up that badly again! It must be in the way we live our lives as church, a fellowship of followers of Christ. We have responded to the understanding that God is the loving Parent and Creator of all people; we have responded to the belief that each and every human being is made in the image and likeness of God; we trust that Jesus reveals the nature of God as love; we have heard the voice of the prophets reminding us that we are to be just and compassionate – caring especially for the vulnerable, for those who seem to have no word of power, often victims of those with much power. But how is this to happen if these people don’t come to church? Attributed to St. Francis is the saying “You may be the only Gospel your neighbor may read.” It happens when the church comes to our neighbors. It happens when we live what we trust, and as such, serve as an example of Christ’s continuing presence. This takes courage, because the word “Christian” is not always favorably received. And if we identify ourselves as such, we may hear a battery of negative words applied to us. And we may think, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” But we also know, we may just have to use our power of silence as others vent. Behind anger, there is often pain, hurt or fear. What we can do is, to the best of our ability, be the best presence of Christ that we can be. Believe it or not, we are a people of power. Our power is in our words, our silence, but even more in our actions. Let us be the church Jesus calls us to be. Amen.