Commentary on St. Paul’s
A Homily delivered by Philip Brooks on St. Paul's Sunday
Text
Commentary on St.
Paul's
Philip A.
Brooks
Senior
Warden
St. Paul's Episcopal
Church
Richmond, Virginia
January 24, 2010
Good Morning.
To prepare my comments for today, I checked the liturgical calendar. Yesterday was the Feast of Phillips Brooks, the great Episcopal preacher. The prescribed gospel lesson had Jesus warning of false prophets that will appear and produce great signs.
Tomorrow is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The gospel lesson, which we have just read, has Jesus saying to his disciples that he is sending them out like sheep into the midst of wolves. Beware of them for they will flog you in their synagogues.
Sandwiched between these two days is our own St. Paul's Sunday when the Senior Warden is to appear before you to talk of great things and where we elect five disciples to join ten other Vestry persons to avail themselves to possible flogging.
Fact is stranger than fiction. It might be best for me to sit down now.
It is one of my great honors to stand before you today as the Senior Warden of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. I am not prophet. As for flogging, well, that's up to you.
Please join me in prayer. The Lord be with you.
O heavenly Father;
We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank thee for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service
That thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.
This prayer is a guide for my comments today.
I love St. Paul's Church, and, I have since my family and I first walked through its doors seeking a spiritual home.
On our first Sunday visit, we felt welcomed. Simple gestures -- an extended hand and a warm smile -- sealed the deal for us. We knew right away, this was a church where we could make a difference and a church that would make a difference in us.
We must be welcoming in all ways. We all must open our arms to all visitors and continuously with each other. We should declare to newcomers that their work and contributions to our ministries are welcome and even expected.
Of course, St. Paul's is not just about Sunday mornings. We welcome people every day of the week. Thousands of people spend almost as much time in downtown Richmond through their work as they do in their homes. To them, we offer many programs. In fact, more people come through our doors during a week than come through them on Sundays.
We can be their spiritual week-day base camp and we need to let them know St. Paul's can be their church home on Sunday's as well.
Bishop Brooks preached that it was as a man that Christ led people to God.
We thank thee for our St. Paul's friends and remember the friendless.
A great strength of St. Paul's is our many ministries. "Proclaiming Christ in the Heart of the City" is not just a slogan.
Each of us has different desires, different needs for spiritual fulfillment.
Had we not substituted Monday's lessons for today's lessons, we would have read from Paul's Corinthian letters that while there is one body under Christ, there are many parts of that body.
God has appointed in the church apostles, prophets, and teachers to produce deeds of power, gifts of healing, forms of assistance, and forms of leadership.
As we give our time, talents, and treasures to others, we can't deplete ourselves. We must be sustained -- fed spiritually.
We've been through major transition having six spiritual leaders - clergy -- in a span of five years. Weaker parishes would have staggered in such transition; but, we are strong. Our history has taught us that we can meet human drama head-on. God answered our calls, and, we are blessed by having Wallace and Kate as our spiritual leaders.
A dominate theme has emerged from our "Such Great Heights" process. We need to do more the proclaim Christ to ourselves. We crave more spirit-led conversation, more education, better connection with each other. As we move from discernment to implementation, it is incumbent to address our intra-spiritual needs.
We thank thee for spiritual food for we are hungry.
St. Paul's has faced slavery -- its brutality, its sickness. While people are no longer bound as chattel, we still face the enslaved. Today, it is the slavery of people bound by chains of poverty. It is a central ministry of St. Paul's to heal the sickness of poverty. It seems to come naturally for us.
What other church in Richmond can take a challenge from a layperson and grow it into a city-wide, multi-faith organization that mentors, tutors, and seeks to heal the wounds of poverty on the children of our city -- our Micah program.
We supply a temporary antidote each Thursday by providing a sustaining meal to hundreds of people sickened by poverty -- our Emmaus program.
Through the passions of two parishioners, we seemingly hijacked an idea hatched in a far-away diocese to launch a long-distance missionary effort in a poverty-encrusted Tanzanian village that has grown into a familial relationship with God as our father -- the Carpenter's Kids program.
If the gates of heaven are open a bit wider because of good deeds on earth, then they should be wide open for us.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
Organizations become stale. Administrative functions become embedded. We have spent enormous energy on rebuilding our parish infrastructure.
The pews have been reconditioned. We restored our parish house as an elegant, but comfortable facility so that we can host a Bishop's party or provide meals and hygienic services to street people.
We've implemented fiscal procedures that ensure we are good stewards of our treasures. We reorganized and strengthened our Boards and Committees. We've acknowledged the work of our professional staff by better defining job descriptions so that we can maximize their efforts to help us minister effectively. We've promoted our ministries in various media by making news, not just buying ads.
We are sound. We are growing. We had over 50 new pledges during our recent stewardship campaign.
As we are in better health administratively, we can turn our attention more fully to the health of our souls.
We thank thee for health and remember the sick.
For three years, I have served on the Vestry with 24 other parishioners. Each has represented our parish with fervor and collectively with all of you we have put St. Paul's on an exciting new journey.
I am especially grateful to my fellow Vestry classmates.
Adrian never allowed us to act without first ensuring that we opened our hearts to God.
Dabney took an idea from Skylark that could have had a short life and led us through the Such Great Heights process so that together with our new clergy we have a plan to take care of each other.
Susie was the sage that reminded us of our diverse parish and that our decisions should be considerate of all.
Joyce, in the accountant's way, made sure we were precise. She's now serving as our Treasurer - an enormous service to our church.
And because of Mary Kay, I have bruises on my shins reminding me that running a parish is not like the harshness of running a business.
Today, we have 10 parishioners willing to join the Vestry. We are grateful for their commitments to St. Paul's. When considering your choices, remember we are one body with many parts and many ministries and our Vestry should be reflective of that diversity.
I love St. Paul's now more than ever. I have come to know the passions of many of you. I have renewed my dedication to the church after seeing these passions, and so Lord
Stir us to service that your gifts may be used for us and for others.
Amen.
