St. Patrick: Intimacy with God

Dem Bones Are Moving at Ascension April 6, 2014

Episcopal Church of the Ascension The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess

I. Introduction. What a gift today’s lectionary readings are to the preacher ~ lifeless bones that reassemble into whole living bodies and a man who had been dead for four days brought back to life by Jesus. The “ruach,” Hebrew for the breath or spirit of God, is everywhere in our readings. It was the ruach that breathed life into human beings in Genesis; it was the ruach that breathed new life into the nation of Israel while it was in captivity in Babylon; and it is the ruach that brought Lazarus back from the dead at Jesus’ command. In fact it was also the ruach that inspired African-American spirituals like “Dem Bones” to help a people keep their faith and hope alive in the face of the horrors of slavery. You see, during slavery, Bible verses about rescue from oppression could be sung, even if not preached about. The ruach is alive in all times, just as it continues to breathe new life into Ascension.

II. Redemption and Resurrection. The way the ruach works is to bring or preserve life where it might have withered or died. We call such this process redemption and its outcome Resurrection. Redemption and Resurrection are, and must always be, at the core of our Christian faith. And so, just two weeks before Easter, we have the story of Lazarus told as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ Resurrection. John tells us that the raising of Lazarus was Jesus’ most extraordinary and last miracle. This miracle was one of the reasons Jesus was received with such enthusiasm into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and one of the key reasons Jesus was crucified. This event carries major importance in the life of Christ. As we consider all the instances of Redemption and Resurrection throughout Scripture, we see two central truths: 1) in the course of Redemption that which is old is re-made, and becomes new; and 2) Resurrection results in new life both now and in eternity.

III. The Ruach at Ascension. There is no better example of the movement of God’s spirit to bring new life than what God has done during the last several years at Ascension. One month ago, we celebrated our seventh anniversary together. Peg and I arrived at Ascension on March 1, 2007. First some history: I came here as a “priest in charge,” which is in the Episcopal Church essentially means “rent a priest with an option to buy.” Perhaps the prelude to my arrival can put flesh upon the bones of this story. Before even knowing you at Ascension, two processes related to prayer and discernment led me here. First, one day I was meeting with Bishop von Rosenberg and the topic of Ascension came up. I said, “Perhaps some day I can help there.” His response was “I have been thinking the same thing.” We agreed to pray about what that convergence meant. Secondly I had attended a week-long retreat and remember sitting under a cross asking God to help me know what would come next in my ministry. In my conversation with God, I asked if I might become a Rector near the ocean. God’s reply came quickly: “I am not in the geographic relocation business!” At the same time, I heard God tell me that, “When your work is done where you are, I will take care of where you go next.”

Out of this history I want to share several insights. The redemptive process through which Resurrection takes place is always saturated in prayer and in a willingness to allow God to be in charge. This is not easy. As human beings, we desire to control the timing and nature of our redemption. Martha and Mary wanted Jesus to come right away. Jesus came days later, but it was at God’s time. Be encouraged, my brothers and sisters who might be trying to wrestle a challenge to the ground or who are feeling discouraged. God hears our prayers and does answer them ~ in God’s time.

IV. That was the beginning of our shared – and it has been shared – ministry together. But the preparation for what was to transpire was not only occurring on my end. It was simultaneously unfolding here at Ascension. You were praying for a leader who could love and help rejuvenate this parish with God’s help. I discerned the spiritual foundation of your process when I talked with your two wardens, Tom Ladd and Mary Lemense, and when Peg and I met with your search committee members, who fielded more than 60 well designed questions. And I have continued to feel your leaders’ commitment to following God’s will, year after year.

This leads me to my second insight. When I reflect on our history together, it is very clear that God does not work only in individual lives. God works in and through communities to create a synergy out of out of which comes the clarity of purpose and the energy to become the Body of Christ. The community of Ascension is an incredible sign of God’s presence in the world. At a time when many churches are shrinking, with God’s guidance, we are consistently growing; at a time when many churches are struggling financially, with God’s grace, our pledge base has more than doubled in seven years. God has helped us welcome hundreds of new members and create many new programs. Now we face the new and exciting developmental challenge of becoming a church where lay leadership increasingly shares in Ascension’s future. It is clear: God has and continues to redeem Ascension, building upon our faith and providing us with gifted and talented staff and lay and clergy leaders. God has brought hope out of discouragement. Dem bones are alive and dancing at Ascension.

V. There is a third, and I believe, most critical influence that has energized us through these past seven years. We have continually invited and responded to the presence of God’s spirit. I hope to be unequivocal here: there are many of us who are gifted in this parish and for that we are very grateful. But the energy for our life together is the spirit of God. Last year on the third Sunday of Lent, I preached a sermon about Moses and the burning bush. I’d like to do what I did that Sunday and quote a few words from my first sermon here seven years ago. I believe these words are as true today as they were then:

“I can sense the excitement we have about our future together. I believe our excitement is warranted. There is no limiting the potential for ministry and mutual love for one another so long as we draw our clarity and our motivation directly from God’s endless energy. We continue to be called into a new time of Ascension’s life. We need to remember that God is always carrying us forward. I AM WHO I AM is the name of our God of the present moment. Let us continue to reach for that moment and step forward joyfully into the future that God has prepared for us.”

The spirit of God, the ruach, is here among us. The degree to which we can receive the spirit is based upon our willingness to pray and to act. In seventh grade I learned the difference between potential and active energy. I believe our challenge is to continue to turn one into the other. We have many new possibilities before us, creating one, perhaps two new services, one on Saturday night and the other on Sunday morning; recruiting a new top-notch youth minister; expanding our ministries to children, youth, and adults in robust ways; re-initiating our Ascension Speakers’ Series when we host Dr. Miroslav Volf, one of the country’s leading theologians this coming October; and re-vitalizing our young family, young couples, and pastoral ministries. Dem dry bones are continuing to move at Ascension. We need only remember that the spirit of God, the ruach, fuels it all; that our prayers for continued guidance are essential; and that God works through community – through you, through me, and through all of us together. Thanks be to God. Amen.