[Propertalk] St James Day

[Robert P Morrison]

We celebrate our patronal festival on Sunday, so this is what I have to work from.

Bob


THE EPISCOPAL PARISH OF ST. JAMES, LINCOLN CITY      THE FEAST OF JAMES THE APOSTLE
JEREMIAH	 45:1-5		        26th JULY, 2009
ACTS 11:27 – 12:3               	        PSALM 7:1-10
MATTHEW 20:20-38

	What a curious Festival we mark today! We’re filled with excitement, but At first blush, it may seem almost as if we’d taken on the character of Madame Thérèse Defarge and were hovering around the guillotine, knitting needles poised for action, sharp-tongued gossip at the ready – just waiting for that blade to fall again, possibly even willing it down on someone’s neck. 1
	Is that REALLY what we’re like? Do we love to see something come to an end; to be spectators at something we might characterise as a failure; maybe even helping it along with our comments and our activities? Is that why we’re gathered here?
	Or are we here despite the worst that the Herods of the world can fling at us, knowing that there’s a tremendous element of risk to what we say and do, yet something, somehow, impels us to be here? Is THAT what we’re about?
	What IS it that keeps us coming here?
	The reading from Jeremiah talks about the prophet’s secretary being at his wits end. No matter what God inspired the prophet to say and do, he ran into conflict. Not only every civil authority, but also every religious authority in the country was gunning for him. Jeremiah couldn’t win, and Baruch, the secretary, was being tarred with the same brush that painted the prophet not simply as a nuisance, but as a traitor, a blasphemer, some of whom to get rid by any means possible.
	And the same could be said of James. Like Jeremiah, James never minced his words. He was constantly back-talking to the wrong people. Everyone felt threatened because James spoke of the abuse of power and resources. He talked about redistributing wealth. He talked about God’s will for everyone to be able to make decisions for themselves and to experience the freedom of living in a community of God’s witnesses. James talked about the importance of reinforcing the reign of God by turning the world upside down.
	And for that, James was, as our opening collect/prayer put it, “the first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom”, to be executed for his faith in and practical application of the teachings of Jesus.
	That James should have reached that point marked a radical change in terms of his attitude. Even the compiler of the Gospel of Matthew had a hard time telling the story of James and John’s attempted coup d’etat over the other disciples as they tried to twist Jesus’ arm, Matthew’s story-teller was so appalled that he had to change the facts to make it seem as if it had been the brothers’ mother who put the power move on Jesus.
	What we celebrate today though, is the radical transformation of James from a cantankerous, self-seeking opportunist to a brave and bold witness to the ability of God to renew everything, even the apparent disaster of state-sanctioned torture and murder.
	Which brings me back to the opening reference to Madame Defarge. Unless we actually LIKE abuse and brutality, or have a sadistic side to our personality, why celebrate an execution? Why do we, by our attendance and membership here, take on the Jacobean name?
	We celebrate precisely because James kept on witnessing t6o the power of God’s love to overcome even the worst of the world’s corruption. We celebrate because we know that there’s nothing that separates US from that divine power and love, no matter what the struggles and heartaches.
	For me, though, I think one of the principle reasons for honouring our relationship with James is the way in which his whole life was a witness to how to overcome fear. He taught, he baptized, he preached, he visited with people because he knew that the Jesus who’d been raised from death wouldn’t ever leave him without comfort and hope, no matter how dark things seemed.
	I said last Sunday that I’d probably maker reference to General Convention in one way or another for months, if not years. Here’s one story.
	Thirty five years ago Louie Crew, a native Georgian, now of New Jersey, co-founded Integrity, an organisation to offer support, shelter and advice to the GLBT community. This was done in and through The Episcopal Church, but was open to anyone and everyone. It happened, says Louie, in response to what he described as “the real world, where, unlike the world of comic books, evil and righteousness maintain no specific address, except yours and mine.” 2	
	This was a time when people were being threatened, beaten and killed on a frequent basis, sometimes simply because of rumours.
	At each general Convention for many years now, Integrity has celebrated a Eucharist as a visible example of the love of God to shelter and comfort the oppressed. At the Eucharist, gay and lesbian clergy were invited to vest. At the beginning there were very few who did. At the end of the liturgy, any gay and lesbian clergy who wished were invited to come to stand around the altar at the time of the blessing. I was told that the first times there were very few – something like six people. Others were simply afraid of what might happen if they self-disclosed.
	This year there were more than a hundred – and these were only the ones who could fit around the altar. There were others in the aisles. Yet, still, there was a sign, I was told, which said, “Please don’t take pictures.” There are people who STILL remain nervous.
	What will it take to help people, of ALL orientations, to feel unafraid for their ministries, their relationships, their lives?
	These AREN’T people whose faith is weak. They’re simply concerned that when all the hoopla or Anaheim has begin to fade, they’ll be singled out and, in one way or another, be picked off one at a time, and threatened, and abused. And we should be quite clear. They WILL be. This is precisely why Integrity, an official part of The Episcopal Church, is there – to offer a safe place, an understanding heart, a comforting mind and voice which isn’t afraid to offer shelter, pretty much as such organizations as the Underground railroad did in the past.
	This may not be the convenient thing to do. Taking in those whom society brands, for whatever reason; sheltering and nourishing those living on the margins of society; offering hope and encouragement to any who feel weak, or discouraged, or dispirited because of economic, or political, or social, or, yes, sexual reasons; doing this is what it means to be a Jacobite. Somehow, we who claim James as our patron must be willing to speak and act out to welcome and bless those who are at risk in our society. In fact, we’re to do this before we know anything about the person in the room, or on the street, or in the store with. It’s simply a matter of living out those two pesky rules – you remember: That baptismal Covenant with its comments about everyone having worth and dignity in God’s eyes, so why shouldn’t everyone have worth and dignity in ours? And that even more disagreeable one slammed on to the end of Matthew’s Gospel account: About being evangelists.
	A friend from Michigan, Pete Ross, included this in a comment the other day. “Evangelism is living the Gospel every day and when people ask you why you are so happy in the face of double digit unemployment and a 401k in the toilet, telling them that it's all in God's hands and you're excited about the prospects for new adventure (and then inviting them to join you in church). 
 	“Jesus defined evangelism: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has  
been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”  3
	Of course, things were so much more simple back then. Jesus had a much easier time of it than we do. He didn’t have to deal with people’s obsession with all the comforts of home, or with getting down to the coast this weekend so they can escape the heat in the Valley. Jesus didn’t have so many different things competing for attention and commitment. I mean, what’s a self-importance-filled religious establishment, and crazed local demagogue, and a paranoid governor, what’s a few hours hanging on a cross? And James, what’s the big deal of being beheaded? 
	The artist, Rod McIver, describes himself in a his way we must all feel: “I want to live a quiet life in the woods. I want to paddle wild rivers and submerge myself in the watery wild world of the soul. I want to live in harmony with nature, in a kind of relaxed psychological harmony. I want deep, lasting friendships with adventurous, kindhearted people. 
	“I want to be a financial success. I want to be recognized as a human of significance. I love challenges. I want to be an accomplished artist. I like excitement. I want to explore my potential, to live up to my potential. I like playing the role of the wild artist. ….
	“Between those contradictory impulses, my life bounces. One path is the path of peace, of inner peace, and the other brings into my life a kind of nervous joy bordering on ecstasy. I live close to nature regardless, but to really pour my heart into my art, into my creativity, I’ve found that I need peace. Peace in the woods. I’m not talking about the money part now, but the creation of art that resonates somewhere deep inside. To accomplish my potential as an artist, to lose myself in my art, I need a life of quiet reflection. Sometimes it is boring.  
	“The life of an artist is a life of self-control and self-discipline.” 4
	Somehow, James found the energy and the commitment to live this sort of life – at least the part about enjoying nature and finding peace within himself in his relationship to Jesus. We have to try to do the same: to trust, to love, to empty ourselves, to take enormous risks. At the same time we have to acknowledge that we have to set aside the other part to which McIver refers – the bit about being a financial success, about being recognised by others as significant.
	Being a follower of Jesus, being an evangelist, is a lot for Jesus to ask, Neither He nor any of His successors told otherwise.
	THAT’S why we celebrate the lives of folk like James. Because he helps us put things in perspective while acknowledging the struggle it can be to set aside the power and the control. But if we’re to help people find God’s peace and comfort for their lives; if we’re to provide a place where people can feel themselves freed and able to face up to the world’s scorn, we daren’t scare them away by the way we grab for attention.
	So we DO celebrate an execution today. James WAS able to witness to the transforming power of God in spite of what hung over his head, if you’ll pardon the pun. Now the call is ours, in our own time and in our own place. God help us to rise to the challenge! We MUST for the sake of all those who look to us for help and encouragement, for the news of the Gospel.


NOTES:
 	Madame Thérèse Defarge is a fictional character in the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. She is a tricoteuse, a tireless worker for the French Revolution and the wife of E Ernest Defarge.
She is arguably the main villain of the book, and ruthlessly seeks revenge against the Evrèmondes, including Charles Darnay, his wife Lucie Manette and their child for crimes a prior generation of the Evrèmonde family had committed. These crimes include the deaths of her sister, father, and brother-in-law. Eventually, her quest for vengeance results in her downfall and death.
	Defarge represents one aspect of the Fates. She knits, and her knitting secretly encodes the names of those people she will have killed. The Fates used yarn to measure out the life of a man, and cut it to end it.
 Cinematic and Theatrical Portrayals
	In the 1981 Mel Brooks film, History of the World, Part I, Madame Defarge (played by Cloris Leachman) is the chief conspirator in the plot to overthrow King Louis XVI. She has become so poor, she has run out of wool, simply rubbing her knitting needles together.
	In the 2008 Broadway musical adaptation of 'A Tale of Two Cities,' Madame Defarge is played by Natalie Toro. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Defarge
2	The Founding of Integrity by Louie Crew. Christianity and Cri9sis, March 17, 1986 pp 78-81   http://www.integrityusa.org/History/founding.htm   
3	Matthew 29:18- 20, NRSV Pete Ross, Lay 4, Diocese of Michigan	pete_ross at charter.net  
4	Rod McIver:  Eagle Mountain - A Pause for Beauty 312 - Heron Dance -  heron at herondance.org  Wednesday, July 22, 2009 6:20 AM

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Robert P. Morrison
The Episcopal Parish of St James,
PO Box 789
Lincoln City, Oregon, 97367

541-994-2426 (Church)