February 9, 2003, Epiphany 5

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Sermon preached by Father Armand Kreft, Associate Rector

Church of St Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs, California

February 9, 2003, Epiphany 5

"And the whole city was gathered together about the door" "Jesus went out to a lonely place...and Simon and those who were with him pursued him..."

The followers of Jesus, and those who wished to be rid of their demons, had a thirst that the world could not assuage. Their hearts, and ours, seek to be with the Savior. We seek our Lord, we pursue our Lord. The followers of Jesus and the people of his time sought to be made whole. Those who were afflicted with physical or mental disabilities were at a severe disadvantage in their society. If they could not work for a living, they had to depend on the charity of passers-by or be taken care of by a member of their extended family. So it was imperative that they be made whole and be able to contribute to the betterment of their society and the good of their family. Jesus promised them wholeness and a chance to be well.

So what draws us 21st century, western Christians to pursue the Savior today? Well, the core of our searching is in what we are pursuing. If what we pursue in life is perfect health, then we will fear ill-health and this fear will occupy our minds constantly.

Some of us fear loneliness and pursue constant companionship, filling our lives with friends, acquaintances even strangers so we do not have to be alone. The television is on constantly, music is always playing, always there is some distraction to keep us from what we fear - loneliness. By succumbing to this fear, we miss the opportunity to be alone with God.

Some of us fear poverty so we pursue only riches, and abhor poverty or deprivation of any kind. If this be the case, we will continue to move towards gathering possessions so we never have to do without. But if we pursue only possessions, we fill our lives with frustration as we gather things that will eventually pass from us.

Some of us pursue only glory. If this be the case than we will consider any humiliation as an attack and an injustice towards us. We will be so caught up in finding approval from others that we concentrate on only one thing at any cost, the approval of those we want to impress.

Some of us pursue success. If this be the case then we will never learn from failure, but when it comes we will be bitter with the world and everyone in it.

Some of us pursue perfection in our neighbor, spouse or partner. If this be the case, then we will be disappointed in the reality of human frailty.

There's a motto I have that reads. "It is the mistaken belief that we can control everything that leads to despair when things go wrong."

Like the followers of Jesus, our souls cry out to God to gather us in and take away our apathy and indifference. We reach out in our darkness, down deep into our hearts, to find the Savior because we know that for us only Jesus can fulfill our deep yearnings for wholeness and health, to fill our senses to overflowing...if only, if only we could turn our gaze from all the unnecessary pursuits that weary our hearts and darken our souls.

We seem to separate God into parts of our daily lives. We see God in some things and in some people, but not in everything and everyone. We think of God and love God sometimes and then put God aside at other times when we want to be in charge. Our lives then take on a "God loves, me, God loves me not" attitude.

Some days we are positive we've finally found the secret to a deep relationship with Jesus and with been granted a gift of serenity and grace. Then something unexpected comes along and we fail to remember our connection with the Lord. The other day I drove up to the San Francisco peninsula to visit with my 90 year old godmother on her birthday. It was a delightful couple of days with her and other friends. On Monday I headed back home to Palm Springs. I felt welcomed and loved and at peace with the world and my place in it and then a red light on my dashboard came on. You can imagine what my state was in by the time I reached my home.

But wait, at least here I know where I missed the mark. I knew that I had not come up to the expectations of Christ. I know that I have a way to go. I didn't have to become tense and stressed over the other drivers. I did not have to make the trip in under eight hours. By the realization that I missed the mark I made progress while my ego and sense of importance was tempered. Yes, as we continue to seek the place where Jesus is, we are learning, slowly, that our awareness of his healing presence is evolving and growing at its own pace. It is when we take stock of where we have been, where we've come from, our condition in life and then look at where we are now...this is what gives us more courage and more grace for what the future abundant life holds for us. If is when we realize that our greatest health was in times when we stayed close to the presence of Jesus and each other, when we sought hard, and placed our hands into his.

We have heard the call of Jesus asking us if we want to be made well again. Our hearts call out to break away and turn to the Lord. And it is when we feel so desparate that we know for certain we do pursue Jesus, to pursue him even into that lonely place as we kneel with him in prayer.

Yes, it is humbling to know we can do nothing without Jesus, and a hope-filled experience of wholeness to know we can do everything with him.

"Jesus withdrew to a lonely place....and his followers pursued him"
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February 15/16, 2003 Epiphany 6

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Sermon preached by Fr. Armand Kreft, Associate Rector

Episcopal Church of St Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs, California

February 15/16, 2003 Epiphany 6B

"If you want to, you can make me clean"

It is difficult for us in the 21st century to realize the horror that awaited the leper of Jesus' time. To be sure, it is a disease that disfigures and mutilates your appearance. In our time, leprosy is treatable. But out of their ignorance of the disease and fear, the population made the sufferers less than human, without dignity, emotions or needs. The people of the time dug great pits, like quarries, and forced the lepers to live in them. By law lepers were not allowed within 50 feet of another person. If they did go out in public, they were shrouded in deepest black and had to ring a bell while shouting "unclean, unclean". Even up to the middle ages, they were not allowed inside a church. They could observe the services through a small slit in the wall while sitting in a darkened room. People felt that even God could not love someone like this. Leprosy was viewed as a punishment from God.

For a leper to approach anyone at that time was unthinkable. So it was with unimagined courage that the leper came to Jesus because he knew Jesus was available and approachable to him. Jesus welcomed those who suffered and did not turn them away.

The leper knew he would not be turned away from the loving presence of our Savior. "Jesus was moved with pity" and Jesus touched the untouchable.

We strive for individuality and independence, so for some any thought of relying on others is a sign of personal failure. Yet as we mature and age or our health fails or our circumstances or conditions of life change, we do need more than ever the solace of friendship and intimacy with others and the knowledge that we matter. And now with the stress and fear of looming war, we tend to shrink back and pull into ourselves. More often than not, the isolated suffer in silence and like the lepers of Jesus' time, are afraid to approach those who may love them. It may seem to them, and us, that the world just continues on and no one cares. Loneliness isolates and impersonalizes everyone to whom it afflicts. Lonely people, hurting people, like the leper, need someone to help them up, to encourage them, to support them, to let them know they're not alone.

We talk about God being our Comforter, but along with that comes our responsibility as Christians, to be ministers and comforters to his people. To be ministers and comforters of God's people, Jesus asks us to make ourselves available and approachable to the lonely and distressed, to those whose inner thoughts cry out "unclean, unclean". Oftentimes, these are the silent cries of the heart. The leper's appearance made known to all his condition. More often than not, in our society, our outward appearances bely the truth of our burdened hearts.

Jesus was available and approachable to the leper and did not turn from the leper's appearance or pain. To be available and approachable is difficult and it takes time. Other peoples pain make us uncomfortable. We're at a loss of what to do or say and yet, as we see in the Gospel, it is not so much what we say as what we do. Jesus just said, "I want to" and touched the leper. So often we want to say "I know how you feel" because we may have had a similar experience. Yet no one really knows how the other person feels, even if the circumstances are the same. But we can stand with that person in their sorrow or pain or fear, as a reminder that someone cares and we stand for God.

As part of the cleansing of the leper, there was more than the outward signs of the disease that needed healing. There was the inner turmoil of rejection and degradation from others. Jesus did not add to the leper's hurt by humiliating him or judging him. Jesus did not belittle the problems of those who came to him. He accepted them and their condition. In the case of the leper, he responded in love by his words "I want to make you well".

We flourish with kindness and shrivel with unkindness. Few of us set out to be deliberately unkind, but sometimes we're not aware of the effect we have by the look on our faces or the tone of our voice or our indifference to the plight of others.

Failure to encourage others is the most common way we hurt others in need. Jesus encouraged the leper to "show himself to the priests and make the appropriate sacrifices." He encouraged the leper to return to society and take his place in it. Jesus encourages us to be the absolute best we can, by reflecting his glory to those around us and by our daily lives. To live the Christian life is to be an icon through which others may glimpse the divine.

Being too busy is another way of adding to the hurt. Too busy to notice their needs, too busy to ask about them or to give them a call to encourage or comfort. Too busy to simply care. Jesus was surrounded by people wanting a miracle in their lives. They wanted to be made whole again. Jesus took time for them. He did not relegate them to the sidelines. He saw each individually, spoke with them, laid hands on them and, by their faith, they were made whole. They had indeed been touched by God.

Jesus took time to have a conversation with the leper, to listen, to touch and to care. Jesus reflects self-less compassion for the sick, the distressed, and the heart-burdened. Jesus take time with us, to touch and care for us. God's love is unchangeable and consistant to all of us. All God asks is that we love him in return. And that love is voluntary, not forced.

As Jesus was available and approachable to others, let us not forget that Jesus is available and approachable for us. He invites, encourages and wants us to bring our problems and joys to him. He wants to take time with us, engage us in conversation and then to touch us with his healing love. Here's yet another non-Episcopal hymn I sometimes sing, a hymn of fortitude and joy: "Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song; as the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the way grows weary and long? O yes, he cares. I know he cares! His heart is touched with my grief; when the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares."

Is it enough that we believe Jesus cares or we sing about his love for us? How do we experience the touch of the Savior and the love pouring from his Sacred Heart? It is through those who encourage us, take time for us, touch us and pray for us. Yet it is not enough that we experience this, but we are commanded by Jesus to do the same for others. Cleansing and being made well are not one-sided. We must continually give away the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. For once we are aware of our cure, so then Jesus gives us the responsbility, as he did with the leper, to show ourselves as being whole and to spread that news to others.

A recovering addict knows that only the Higher Power can offer the strength, the solace, the cleansing that is needed, so too does Jesus offer us the opportunity to ask to be made clean and well again, to restore us to wholeness. And then to "show ourselves to the priest and make the appropriate sacrifice" in appreciation for this miracle of healing. It is when the temptations and assaults of self-doubt and low self-esteem creep back into our hearts, as we imagine ourselves unworthy of the love of God, that the slip comes and the spiral of the unimaginable begins again. These are some of the triggers that put the addict at risk, the same ones that put us at risk of denying ourselves the love of God. Our Eucharistic Prayers says, "again and again God calls us" So again and again we can put aside the old messages of time past and look to Jesus for his healing touch. With the cleansing of the leper, not only was his outward appearance cleansed, but the inner soul- hurt of society and the self-loathing were also cleansed.

When I was doing research for this sermon, I read one of the Biblical commentaries by William Barclay. In the commentary he wrote that "leprosy, as we know, is incurable, so obviously the Gospel was referring to some other skin disease." My friends, leprosy may be incurable to us, but it is curable by God.

Yet there are times when the cleansing and the healing are not to our earthly standards. We stand astounded that the prayers have not been answered to our satisfaction and we rail in anger to our God. When are we going to accept that God does not operate by our rules? For the Christian, healing begins within us as our hearts see the goodness of God and the abundant life bestowed upon us. Healing begins as we allow others into our lives in ways heretofore unknown to us. Cleansing begins as we forgive those who have wronged or hurt us and as we ask for forgiveness for the wrongs and hurts we have done. For some, healing is complete when they are called home to Glory. To others, healing is complete as they continue to proclaim the message of Jesus' compassion, love and touch.

Our faith is based on miracles, everyday miracles as well as those which can never be explained. It is that quest for the miraculous that lead the leper to seek the Savior and ask to be made clean. Yet the miracle must never overshadow the message: Jesus is approachable and available to the leper, to you and to me as we ask, "If you want to, you can make me clean". And Jesus will always answer "I want to."
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