Sermon: "Forasmuch as Without Thee"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

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

We will forever associate certain momentous occasions in our lives with particular places. The anniversary of one of those occasions, of course, occurred last week. Indeed, I imagine that most of you - like I - will always remember where we were when we began to hear the news of September 11, 2001. Even as we continue to try to make some sense of the tragedies of that day, the memory of that moment in time burns in our consciousness and in our profound sadness … and it will for years to come - probably, for ever.

As we continue to stand - sometimes with difficulty and unsteadily - over against events of six years ago, we do well to pray words like those of our collect today: "O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts." Or, in the traditional language that I prefer in this case: "O God, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee, mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts."

I spoke with someone the week following September 11 who made an interesting observation - an observation that has been repeated often since then. He said that a series of events like those of September 11 had always been something that happened "over there" … somewhere else … not in the United States of America. He pointed out that we have been spared the physical destruction of wars in the last century and most acts of international terrorism as well. But with the events of six years ago, the world seems to have changed. Indeed, six years after the fact, the re-focus of terror's threat continues to be a challenge for us in this country.

I also remember well that reactions from around the world were both supportive and unfamiliar. In fact, one of the first e-mails I received following the news of September 11 originated from South Africa - that land of so much civil and religious unrest for so long. The message was one from a bishop there … copies sent to all American bishops … a message to his people, calling for prayers on behalf of the American people. This is indeed not a position that is familiar to us.

"O God, forasmuch as without thee we are unable to please thee." The good news - the best news - is that we are not without God, even in times of tragedy and of desperate circumstances and of agonizing uncertainty. God is indeed very much with us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, embodied in our fellow men and women, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. The bishop from South Africa knows that. People who were present in Knoxville for the Churchwomen Convention on September 11 knew it, too, for we upheld each other on that day six years ago. Indeed, I suspect that most all of us could point to wonderful examples of God's presence that we have known, precisely in times of tragedy. Surely, we are not without God, ever.

Our Bible readings today remind us that God is ever with us, even in times and circumstances that we do not look for God … or cannot see God … or do not realize the reality of the presence of God.

The writer of Exodus reminds us that when the people of God deserted Him and created a golden calf to worship instead, still God did not desert or destroy the people. God continued to direct and preserve His people. God remained with them.

Also, St. Paul could write to Timothy, "I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy…The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the foremost"(I Tim 1:13, 15). St. Paul was not without God, even if St. Paul did not know it at the time.

Finally, St. Luke's Gospel reminds us that the Good Shepherd does not desert the lost sheep. Rather, the Good Shepherd searches for that lost sheep until he is found - and then rejoices greatly over the one who had been lost but now, is restored to the community.

"O God, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee, mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts."

Today we celebrate that the community of the people of God - that fellowship in which we know the Holy Spirit of God - that community is enriched by the confirmation and reception of several of our members. The folks who will be presented today come forward to affirm that God's presence and grace are active in their lives. They affirm - and we confirm - that they, and we, are not without God, ever.

Thus, in good times and in bad ones, we proceed through this life, sure of God's presence with us. We may stray from God's way for us - like the people in the wilderness, or St. Paul the persecutor of Christians, or the lost sheep - but God continues to be with us. God is tenacious in His being with us. And that surely is good news! The Holy Spirit of God is ever-present, to "direct and rule our hearts" - now and always.

In conclusion, may we remember familiar words of assurance from the Letter of Paul to the Romans … a passage often read in the Burial Office … words so closely related to our collect this morning and to our times of tragedy: "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord"(8:38-39). Thanks be to God!

Copyright © 2007 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee