Sermon: "By the Grace of God"
The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

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

The wonders of holy scripture reveal new messages to us when we mine their depths for meaning. It really is a great gift that we can discover some message that seems profoundly current, even though people have been reading the same words for thousands of years. In our lessons this morning, for instance, I found a new perspective - at least for me - as I considered the three readings together.

First, in the Old Testament lesson, there is the rather graphic and troubling image of the plundering of the holy city, Jerusalem. We read that the king of the Chaldeans looted the city and killed many of the people, including the young people who lived there. In fact, we read "(The Chaldeans) burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels. (The king) took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons" (II Chron 36:19-20).

This reading depicts an image of destruction: the beginning of the Babylonian captivity, the exile of God's people from their Promised Land. We have conveyed here utter helplessness and hopelessness and needs that are both great and grave.

Consider for our purposes the Gospel reading next. Depicted there is the familiar story of feeding the five thousand people. However, remember that this feeding miracle occurred in a setting of need - a large crowd, in a lonely place, with very little to eat.

The disciples discover that a boy has five barley loaves and two fish - not very much in response to five thousand hungry souls. Indeed, Andrew said of these meager provisions, "What are they among so many?" (Jn 6:9).

But you know what happens next in the story. Jesus gives thanks for the loaves and the fish and then he distributes them to the people. We read that the hungry people received "as much as they wanted" (6:11). In fact, there is even some food left over.

Finally, the reading from Ephesians sounds almost like a hymn of praise - praise to God for God's grace. Grace, you know, is not earned or deserved, but, rather it is a free gift. As the writer of Ephesians proclaims, it is "by grace you have been saved" (2:5). Also, in recognition that God is the source of life itself, the writer affirms that "we are what he has made us" (2:10). Therefore, we should not boast or be proud about anything, for "this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (2:8). So indeed it is, with grace.

Now, I suggested earlier that these three lessons, taken together, have a special meaning for us today. Indeed, I would point out that this succession of images tells the story of salvation for the people of God.

The destruction of Jerusalem gives the people a sense of hopelessness. The feeding of the five thousand depicts the receiving of necessary sustenance. And, the hymn of praise proclaims the experience of grace. The story of salvation has each of those elements in it - a sense of hopelessness, the receiving of sustenance, and the experience of grace.

Further, I suggest that each of us has little salvation stories in our own lives. I want to encourage you this morning to open your eyes of faith in order to perceive those little stories of salvation that you have known. The hopelessness may not rival the destruction of Jerusalem. The sustenance may not even be food, in a literal sense. However, the experience of grace is quite real indeed.

On Thursday, I returned from this year's spring meeting of the House of Bishops. As General Convention approaches this summer - with memories of the last General Convention and with expectations of controversies this year also - it is easy sometimes to feel hopeless about the Church or at least, about our ability as Episcopalians to be worthy of our calling as the Body of Christ in the world.

However, in the midst of this sense of unrest, unease - and, perhaps, even hopelessness at times - a special commission of bishops, priests and lay people has been working. We saw a draft report last week, and it really will be a remarkable document. Various voices from the worldwide Anglican Communion will be represented, and these will be woven into the same fabric as differing perspectives of the church in our country. Following the presentation of the draft document, bishops from many points of view indicated that they could support it. This document, then, became a kind of nourishment for us in the House of Bishops - sustaining us, if you will, in a time of hunger and need.

After receiving the document and after hearing the responses to it, I among others knew a kind of peace - peace that comes from the experience of grace. Grace was certainly conveyed into a situation that very much needs the grace of God. Grace, you will remember, is unearned and undeserved - but the experience of it is quite real indeed, as we all know.

A sense of hopelessness; the receiving of sustenance; and the experience of grace - that's the story of salvation. And we know that story in little ways within the context of our own lives.

Now, I do not want to overstate the potential for reconciliation of this particular draft document. Indeed, documents come and go, blown to and fro - sometimes not by the Spirit but by the whims of General Convention and church politics, among other sources. Thus, my point this morning is not to glorify this particular piece of work - a work about which I am admittedly optimistic. Rather, my point is to encourage each of us to be sensitive to the possibility that God may be at work in our everyday lives - doing the work of salvation - dealing with our hopelessness, offering us needed sustenance for life and providing us with the grace necessary to live our lives.

May God therefore grant us the vision to see the work of salvation in our daily lives, so that we may know the saving grace of God, which is God's gift to us. Amen.

Copyright © 2006 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee