Comfortable Words for
Uncomfortable Times
The Readings for the 5th Sunday of Pentecost
Zechariah
9:9-12 Psalm 145:1-13 Romans 7:21-8:6 Matthew 11:25-30
Preface
It’s an honor and a
joy to be invited to preach once again here at Holy Trinity. I don’t recall our worship space being quite
so expansive, however. It’s not quite as
nice as being in our beautiful church, but it is pleasant being out here in the
open air like this. In colonial times, when
this region was all wooded frontier, itinerate preachers would come through preaching
where there were otherwise few preachers.
One of the most famous was George Whitefield who had a great influence
of this area and all colonial America up and down the eastern seaboard. He was an Anglican clergyman with a booming
voice, ready-made for open-air preaching. It was said that you could hear him 5 miles
away when he was preaching. That sounds
like and exaggeration, but in any case, Whitefield has no competition from me.
The Readings
In today’s reading
from the Prophet Zechariah, he says the King is coming and He will release the captives
and restore hope.
In our Romans reading today,
St. Paul reminds us that a life submitted to the Spirit of God is true life
– and the Spirit brings that elusive quality to our lives known as peace. We Americans do indeed yearn for peace in
these less-than-peaceful times in which we live.
And finally,
in our Gospel reading today, Jesus says that if you are tired… worn out… burned
out… weighed down- come to Him and find rest. What a great invitation.
These are comforting words
for these less than comfortable times.
Carl Marx’s in his famous charge against Christianity declares that “Religion
is opium for the masses.” What if instead
Marx had said “Religion is a comfort for the masses?” That would not have achieved his intended effect,
but it would have been more accurate. Marx,
of course is looking at Christianity from the outside and cannot speak with any
real sense of knowing, reminding us of what St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians
1:18, “For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the
power of God.” Marx wants to
suggest that the promises of our Scripture readings today are an illusion, not
real; however, for us who are “in Christ,” these words are the power of God for
living in this broken and crazy world.
Cranmer’s Comfortable Words
In the late medieval period of Western history, Christianity had
morphed into a religion that largely did not offer comfort. Late medieval piety was focused on earning your
way to heaven, rather than looking to the power of God to save us, as we were
just saying. Our fallen human nature
thoroughly makes earning our own way back to God an impossibility, and the Old
Testament is a witness to this. For the
medieval Christian, then, what they knew was only fear, anxiety and
hopelessness, all because the love of God and our hope to be found in Christ had
become hidden from them.
To this reality, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the head of the Church in
England author of our Book of Common Prayer included in our Eucharistic Liturgy
what is known as “Comfortable Words.” They
are thankfully still in our Prayer Book to this day. Cranmer’s
“Comfortable Words” are simply four Scripture passages that go to the true heart
of the Gospel. He presents them to the people such that they could
not possibly miss the comfort and power that can be found in their union with
Christ. The first of these four passage
is from our Gospel reading for today- listen to Jesus’ words again, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest.” What
a promise! What a comfort!
Cranmer
chose three other passages to be included in his “Comfortable Words.” Father Theo will be reading those to us later
in this service. I hope they are a
comfort to you. As we are repeatedly reminded
of in the psalms, we are to take comfort and shelter under the shadow of God’s wing. I love that image. God’s comfort is a comfort that is eternal.
Seeking
Comfort in Our Time
On
this 4th of July weekend, we find ourselves focused as a nation on our
centuries-old struggle against our own fragilities and fallenness that have
kept us from making the ideals of our Founders a reality for all. What we really struggle against, however, is to
be found in the dark recesses of the human heart, and to heal the human heart,
we need God.
Just about
all our Founding Fathers were religious men, and many expressed in their writings
and speeches the sense that this great enterprise we call the United States needs
God, and that this nation is made possible only because we are under the providential
care and guiding hand of God, under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty, to
use the psalmists’ imagery. Two quotes
from George Washington speak to this. (Washington was, by the way, for many
years on the vestry of the Anglican Church in Alexandria, just to let Holy
Trinity’s vestry know they follow in good footsteps). He wrote, “Of all the
habits and dispositions which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable
supports.” He was also quoted, "The propitious smiles of heaven can never
be expected on a nation which disregards the eternal rules of order which
heaven itself has ordained.” Thank you,
George Washington!
On
this 4th of July, it is right, therefore, to celebrate God’s
providence and blessing upon this nation.
We have been blessed over the centuries to be a beacon of freedom and
opportunity for millions who have come to be part of this great American enterprise,
the most recent among us here at Holy Trinity being our beloved Iwuji family
who became American citizens just this past year. Congratulations to them once again. The ideals and Godly wisdom of our founders has
resulted in a nation of phenomenal success and security for the vast majority
of its citizens. Our nation has created a
rising standard of living for its people and been blessed with the ability to export
food, technology and the economic opportunity that democracy and capitalism bring. According
to World Bank, we have contributed to reducing world poverty by half over the
last number of decades. This is our day
to celebrate and give thanks for this.
This is a phenomenal statistic, although it is strangely not talked
about, presumably because there is yet so much work yet to be done against world
poverty. God blessed this nation with
the will and the ability to defeat the institution of slavery in this country, take
on fascism in two world wars, and to face down the godlessness of Marxism in
our day, thus securing the economic and personal freedom for countless numbers
of our fellow human beings here and around the world. Not forgetting that we are a work in progress,
this is nonetheless our day to count our blessings.
On this
4th of July weekend, we should pray for two things: first, that God’s hand of blessing continue to rest upon
this great nation; and secondly, that God continue His good work of healing of
our people and our society. Our 4th
of July celebration should also be a time of repentance, not only for our sins as
a nation, but also for something that overshadows our whole future- that we as
a culture in these modern times have actively and perilously sought to remove
ourselves from under the shadow of God’s wing.
Conclusion
So, this
morning, Jesus invites us to come to Him and find rest for our weary
souls. I don’t know about you, but I’m
feeling a bit weary. It makes me appreciate
the fact that Father Ross is using the Kenyan benediction in our worship these days:
“All the devil’s works we send to the cross of Christ. All our hopes we set on the risen Christ.”
Where
do you turn for comfort? Where do
you go for answers to this crazy, mixed-up world? The answer to this here at Holy Trinity is
what it always has been is–Jesus! 28 Come
to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, He says, and I will give you
rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from
me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls.” In these less than comfortable times, we
should take comfort that God is still in charge.
Let
me close by circling back to my opening reflections on George Whitefield. His message was a simple one of “conversion.” Conversion is submitting to the regenerating,
transforming and comforting power of God in our lives. Whitefield ushered in a movement known as the
Great Awakening. On this 4th
of July, we should all pray for another Great Awakening.
Prayer
Let
us pray: Lord, we thank you for the
great blessings you have bestowed on this nation and on the world through this
nation. Thank you for walking with us to
bring comfort and peace amid our struggles.
Receive our repentance. Heal our
land. Push back the darkness in our hearts.
Remove not your guiding hand from us but
awaken us afresh with your Holy Spirit. Place
us back under the shadow of your wing and bless this nation. We pray these
things in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
The Reverend Rob Hartley, July 5, 2020
