Wolfeboro's annual First Nite celebration will once again feature performances at All Saints' Church. Volunteers are needed to assist performers, check/sell First Nite buttons to patrons, and generally 'man' the event. Each performance is 45 minutes with a 15 minute break in between. Volunteers can sign up to help out for one or more one-hour shifts between 2PM - 7PM. Please call the church office if you are available to help out with this great event. Thank you!

Sermon preached at All Saints' Church, Wolfeboro; By the Rev. Edward G. Rice, Interim Rector, Third Sunday of Advent, Year A; December 15, 2013; Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:4-9; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

 

I have something a bit different to share this morning.  But, it was given to me, and it is from God, so it seems right to share it.  It's a letter from God to the people of All Saints' Episcopal Church, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

 

Dear People of All Saints' Parish,

 

I understand you have received some disconcerting news this week, news that the remaining finalist in your search for a new rector has taken a position in another parish.  I know that is disappointing.  You had high hopes and so you should.  This is a great community, a healthy, generous and compassionate parish that knows in its bones that it is part of something bigger than itself and its own needs, and that it has been, and will continue to be life-giving and a blessing far and wide.

 

Because you take our work seriously, and want to get on with it, you will need to take time to grieve.  No, no!  I am serious.  I am not saying this because I think you are sissies.  You had a dream.  It did not come true as many of you hoped, even presumed it would.  That does not mean there is anything wrong with you.  Most of our best clergy would be delighted to be in this ministry with you. 

 

As it turns out, this match-making business is not automatic.  In spite of all the good work you have done, and you have done very good work, not all courtships lead to love at first sight, much less a good marriage.

 

Congratulations, you chose an excellent rector search committee.  Tired they are, yes!  Disappointed they are, yes!  Already having conversations with diocesan leaders about additional candidates to interview, yes!  Planning and communicating with one another already, yes!  Taking a rest for a time, I hope so.  All that white stuff out there is not an accident.  It's time for a long winter's nap.  Maybe two.

 

Are there things to learn before they charge forward?  Maybe so, maybe not?  Time will tell.  There is a great pastor out there and I know you will find each other.  Time to keep on keeping on!

 

Now, I am not sure how you feel about coincidence.  Personally, my experience with life and Creation is that some incidents are more meaningful than others.  Regardless, as Don Holm pointed out in Men's Bible Study on Thursday morning, the lessons before you this morning might have been titled "a memo to All Saints' Parish".  If you missed the news flash on that, I want to take a few moments to illustrate how these lessons are directly relevant to your situation.

The first lesson from the Old Testament, a reading of the words of my prophet Isaiah, were meant to be Good News to a people going through difficult times.  I wanted them to know that better times were coming.  I have similar words of promise for you, the Good News that a wonderful future lies before you, and that I have great things in store for you and your next clergy companion in ministry.  Unfortunately, the road to Good news often involves detours and delays. How did my articulate Presbyterian servant Frederick Buechner phrase it?  O, yes, he postulated that to get to Good News, a people often need to encounter tragedy and comedy first. 

 

Now, what you are going through may not exactly be tragedy or comedy, but it sure ain't fun.  Love and ministry are always costly!  There are great things still to come!

 

Now, even if you missed that part of the memo, I can't believe any of you missed the second part, the part just read in the Letter from James.  "Be patient, therefore, beloved,...  The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts,..."

 

OK, is that clear?  That is not advice to wait passively, neither the farmer nor the prophet, wait around passively.  They are always about the work they can do.  The good ones know very well what is possible and what is not, what God can do and they can't.   They simply leave to God what only God can do, and are about the good work they can be about.

 

What good farmers and prophets do not do is try to make things worse just to relieve their own anxiety.  And so James continues, " Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged."  I have heard very little grumbling among you and that is a very good thing.  Grumbling rarely helps! I am so glad you are living into that part of the memo!

 

Now, let's turn to the Gospel lesson.  First of all, I need to assure you that when John the Baptist asked the question, "Are you the one to come, or should we seek another?" he was not referring to your next rector.  He was referring to the Messiah, who has come, is coming among you every day and will come again.  Take heart, you are not now and will never be alone without the Holy One of God!

 

I actually think my young son Jesus did a pretty God job of answering that question the first time around when he said, "Sure things aren't perfect!  And, absolutely, they are not all you had hoped for, but look around you, open your eyes to see all the good things that are happening, at least to some degree, because of the ministries in which you are involved: "the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them."  Thank you.  Keep at it! If you keep kissing frogs, one day, PUFF, the prince or princess will appear!

 

So what's the message in all this?  The message is what it always is on the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A.  The message is: Surprise!  Surprise, I operate on my own time-table!  Surprise, things do not always turn out as you planned!  Surprise, I choose leaders beyond human understanding, those too old, too young, too flawed.... but O, the wonderful things we can accomplish together!

 

Sincerely yours,

Your God of wonder and surprise.

 

 

So a story about surprise.  In his book, The Twelve Days of Christmas; Unwrapping the Gifts, Curtis Almquist, the Superior of our monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tells his story.

 

He was in California preparing to fly home to Boston but the weather was stormy and flights were being delayed and canceled right and left.  When he finally got on a plane, it sat for what seemed like an eternity on the runway before taking off.  In the air, the conditions were turbulent, nauseating many.  Many became apprehensive about making their connecting flights and signs of the irritability were everywhere.  When the flight finally landed, everyone was in a rush to disembark.

 

The passengers, he writes, drained out of the plane in an angry stampede, frustrated, exhausted, their clothing damp and rumpled and each of them focused on a mission.

 

Then something very surprising happened.  For some unknown reason, the airport had hired a professional quintet of very talented musicians and set up a dance floor where a group of dance instructors were engaged in some of the most graceful and beautiful ballroom dancing-the women's arms held high, full skits flowing with the rhythm of the music, the couples moving around the floor like swans moving across a lake.

 

Stunned by the beauty of it all, virtually all the passengers stopped first to look, then put down their luggage, gazing intently trying to take in the beauty of it all.  Curtis noticed that a number of the passengers yes were so full of tears that tears could be seen running down their cheeks.  Some of them even began to smile.  Then, almost without notice, one of the dancing couples separated and drifted over to where the passengers stood gazing, asked some them to join them on the dance floor which is exactly what they did to the cheers and clapping of their fellow passengers.

 

I assure you, there is still someone out there who wishes to dance with you and God right here in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and prays for the opportunity to dance and serve with you.  And, I am sure, that is a prayer God intends to answer with a resounding, "YES!"  In the Name of Jesus Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

 

The All Saints' ECW will not have a bake sale in December.  However their "Georgia Pecans" and "Bean Soup Mix" will be on sale each Sunday between services during the holidays. Both make wonderful Christmas gifts and your purchase supports the Outreach Programs of ECW. Thank you.