Sermon: "Who's in Charge Here?"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

Words of comfort are in short supply these days. Indeed, what we hear more often are words of threat, of pain, of anger, of confusion and of hate. Words of comfort may be lost in that mix, if they are spoken at all.

Annie and I were in New Orleans 10 days ago. While there is some progress toward rebuilding structures and reconstructing lives, it is difficult to be optimistic or to speak words of comfort about long-term prospects.

For instance, I was told that the flooded area equals about the same extent of land as Great Britain. Of the 10 hospitals in New Orleans, only three are now open. Eighty percent of the primary care doctors have left the city. Those kinds of statistics make it difficult to speak words of comfort in New Orleans or about New Orleans.

In the Episcopal Church, also, we experience a good deal of discomfort these days. We have traditionally been a denomination that encompasses considerable variety in our theological understandings and beliefs. However, that variety is stretching and straining us to a greater extent now than many of us remember from previous times. The immediacy of Internet communications and the reality of global Anglicanism present new factors in the current circumstances. Again, within the context of our church life, words of comfort are few and far between, unfortunately.

Perhaps John the Baptist might be the prophet for our day. Maybe we need someone to stand up in front of us and proclaim, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Lk 3:7). Those words will be read as part of next week's Gospel, by the way … so you can look forward to hearing them once again then. Perhaps John the Baptist's call to repent - or else - is just what we need to hear.

However, I have chosen a different tack for this sermon. The Second Reading, from Philippians, offers something rare in our day. The Letter to the Philippians provides words of comfort … and those words give us at least one of the things that we really do need to hear, I believe.

These words come to us as a welcome relief from the words of tragedy and of contention that we experience on a fairly regular basis. Further, the reading seems especially timely for us at St. Christopher's today. That is, the message of comfort surely is appropriate for people to be confirmed today, as they take this step on their spiritual journeys. That message likewise is appropriate for all the rest of us who need so desperately to hear words of hope, of encouragement and of comfort, as well.

In these verses at the beginning of the Letter to the Philippians, St. Paul deals with three themes: greeting, thanksgiving and intercession. That is, St. Paul greets his readers with fondness and affection. He follows that greeting with words of thanksgiving - thanksgiving for the Gospel witness and message that they share. And finally in today's passage, St. Paul assures the people of the church in Philippi of his prayers for them and for their ministry. Thus, taken together, it seems to me that St. Paul does indeed offer words of comfort to the Philippians - through his greeting, his thanksgiving and his prayers.

This morning, let's put a magnifying glass on one verse in particular, from among many words of comfort in that reading. St. Paul writes, "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ" (1:6). What a wonderfully affirming and comforting thing to write! "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ."

Now, notice the time reference of that verse. It was God who began the good work among the people of the church in Philippi. It was God who was there at the beginning, encouraging and enabling the people of God in doing good works. Then notice also - in terms of time - that it will be God in Jesus Christ who will assure the completion of the good work that God started at the beginning. He is indeed Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end. Thus, the activity of God - at the beginning and in the end - ensures that the good work will indeed be accomplished.

Notice also what is not communicated in that verse. That is, St. Paul does not write that the people have taken what God began and have proceeded directly and without detour to the end that Christ has in mind. Nor did St. Paul write that the people were even expected to follow that straight and narrow way, without deviation. St. Paul knows people too well to make that assertion. Reading between the lines a bit, we might interpret the verse this way: "God began a good work for God's people, and Jesus will complete that work at the time of his return. But, from time to time, the people themselves certainly messed things up in the middle!"

Does the awareness of our imperfections change the fact that these are words of comfort? No, indeed. Does this behavior - of the people of Philippi and of Kingsport, for that matter - does our behavior change the faith assertion that God is in charge, ultimately? Certainly not. But it does mean that these words of comfort are real and true, even when we mess things up. It does mean that we are not expected to be perfect … and that the ultimate destiny of the world does not depend on our decisions or on what we accomplish or don't accomplish.

Therefore, when Hurricane Katrina hits, we try to respond, in the best ways we can, muddling along in the process. And when the Episcopal Church has some controversial decisions to make, we say our prayers and do the best we can. In the process, we make mistakes. We mess things up. But you know what? The fate of this world is not ultimately in our hands, thanks be to God!

Thus, it is that we today may find true comfort in the words of St. Paul, written long ago to the church in Philippi: "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." Amen.

Copyright © 2006 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee