"Today is a New Day"
A Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 25, 2005
Text: Matthew 21:28-32
I
Those who are baseball fans know what the word "closer" means. A "closer" is the pitcher who comes in at the end of the game -- usually in the 9th inning -- when his team has the lead; his job is to hold the lead and deprive the other team of getting any runs. Even if he came into the game yesterday and gave up the game-winning home run, he will say, "That was yesterday. Today is a new day." He can't let the problems and failures of yesterday influence what he does today. Today is a new day.
The "closer" is like the first son in today's Gospel parable. The father asks the son to "go and work in my vineyard" and the son says, "I will not"; but later the son changes his mind and goes. The good news of today's parable is that God gives us a second chance to get it right.
Notice that the father says, "Go and work in my vineyard today ." This is a daily invitation. Every day when we get up in the morning, God invites to go into the vineyard. Even if you didn't go yesterday or the day before or the year before or ten years before, this morning, God invites you again. Some may have been away from church for 10 or 20 or 30 years. You may have shut God out of your life for a long time but God invites you again.
I don't mean just being invited to go to church on Sunday -- although that is very important. I mean saying yes to the way we live our lives. Today is a new day to express our love to a spouse, our children, a parent, or a friend. A new day to visit someone in the hospital or to call a sick relative out of town. A new day to respond to those affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita or to do something to end the poverty and racism which these hurricanes have exposed.
II
Even if we said no yesterday, we can say yes today. Some of you know that I was formerly a Roman Catholic priest. After I left my religious order I got a job working for the City of Boston developing affordable housing and providing job training for low-income people. Later I worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in human resources. While both of these jobs were ways to make a better society, I kept hearing this nagging call within that God wanted me more directly involved in the ministry of the church. God was calling me to serve again as an ordained priest, but I was delaying my response. The good news is that God renewed the call. Even though I said no the day before, the next day I had a chance to say yes -- which I did after three years -- and for that I give thanks, because God was calling to be where I ought to be.
We need to be alert to the possibility to say yes to God's call today, even if we said no yesterday. This past week, I got a call from the pastor of another church inviting me to speak to lay leaders of his church about building small groups in their parish. Perhaps I was feeling a bit busy about all of the duties and responsibilities that I have here at this church, so I said, "No, I don't think that I am the best qualified person to talk about small groups." The next morning I woke up and I seemed to have a better opinion about myself and my own abilities. I reflected that in fact I had helped start several small groups, like our men's group and our koinonia groups here at All Saints, and that I had some expertise that I could share. So I called the pastor back and said, "Yes, I would be happy to speak at your church." Each day is a new day. Whatever happened yesterday is over.
III
Several years ago, I was in England and I was staying at the monastery of the Cowley Fathers in Westminster. There were guests there from other countries and one morning I sat across the breakfast table from a priest from New Zealand. I told him how much I liked the New Zealand Prayer Book and especially the prayer at the end of the day (page 184):
Lord, it is night. The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God. It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be. The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you. The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace. The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities. In your name, we pray. Amen.
I was a little surprised with the priest from New Zealand told me, "I was on the committee that compiled that Prayer Book -- and that particular prayer came after one of our most contentious and frustrating sessions. We had been working all day and we were at loggerheads. It was now late into evening and it was clear that we were not going to resolve our conflicts that night. We were all feeling frustrated and upset and this was a horrible way to end our session. We asked one of our wiser members to lead us in a prayer. He offered this prayer with the words: 'what has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.' He didn't put a pretty face on our committee's work. Some harsh words had been spoken. We didn't have agreement. Now it was night. We humans needed to stop. Put it God's hands. Tomorrow would be another day. And, of course, tomorrow was another day. And the result is the New Zealand Prayer Book."
Yesterday is past; today is a new day. What has been done has been done, what has not been done has not been done; let it be. Like the first son in the Gospel parable, we get another chance to say yes to God's invitation, another chance to go into the vineyard, another chance to live a full life. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.
Amen.