"Wideness in God's Mercy"
Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 1, 2006
Text: Mark 9:38-48
I
You may be familiar with the hymn of Frederick William Faber, "There's a wideness in God's mercy." It's Hymn Number 470 in the Hymnal. It goes like this:
There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in his justice, which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner, and more graces for the good;
there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood.
For the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind;
and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful, we should take him at his word;
and our life would be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.
The hymn speaks to the wideness and the greatness of God - which I am reminded of when I take my dog Logan for a walk on these cool, fall evenings. I brace against the chilling air and know that the seasons are changing. I look up on a clear night and see the moon and the stars and I imagine the outer reaches of our galaxy and the galaxies beyond. At those moments I don't doubt the greatness of the God who created this marvelous expanse of universe. I don't doubt the wideness of God's mercy. I'm in awe of God's grandeur and I am transported beyond the pettiness and worries of the day. I am grateful then that I have a wonderful dog like Logan who gives me a good excuse to take a break from whatever I'm doing to go outside and see the wonders of the evening sky.
But I have to confess that during the day - as I face various problems and difficulties - I don't always have this broad, serene view. I don't always see the wideness of God's mercy. And so I can identify with Joshua in today's first reading who was pretty put-out when he saw Eldad and Medad prophesying. Why are they prophesying, he wondered. They weren't ordained in the tent like the other seventy elders; they aren't part of our select group. Who do they think they are? This bothered Joshua, so he went to Moses and asked him to stop them. However, Moses believed in "the wideness of God's mercy" and said, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!" For Moses, "the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind," certainly broader than the narrow measure of Joshua's mind.
II
In today's Gospel passage, the apostle John also doesn't seem to believe that there is a wideness in God's mercy. John was upset that someone who was not not part of Jesus's inner circle of apostles was casting out demons in Jesus' name. This bothered John, so he went to Jesus and asked him to stop them.
Jesus, however, who believed in the wideness of God's mercy more than anyone who ever lived, says, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us." For Jesus, "the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind."
It seems that whenever one group of Christians takes a step to express the wideness of God's mercy, another group wants to pull back and rein them in.
In the sixth century, the Celtic Church was famous for their strong partnership of women and men in ministry. For example, Celtic missionary expeditions consisted of male and female missionaries. But this Celtic practice was not appreciated by ecclesiastics on the continent who objected to the role of women assisting in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Listen to this complaint in a sixth-century letter written by bishops in Gaul to Irish missionaries:
Through a report made by the venerable Sparatus, we have learned that you continually carry around from one of your fellow-countrymen's huts to another, certain tables upon which you celebrate the divine sacrifice of the Mass, assisted by women whom you call conhospitae; and while you distribute the Eucharist, they take the chalice and administer the blood of Christ to the people. This is an innovation, an unheard-of-superstition ... For the love of Christ, and in the name of the Church united and of our common faith, we beg you to renounce immediately upon receipt of this letter, these abuses of the table ... We appeal to your charity, not only to restrain these women from staining the holy sacraments by administering them illicitly, but also not to admit to live under your roof any woman who is not your grandmother, your mother, your sister, or your niece.
It seems that these sixth-century ecclesiastics from Gaul did not believe that "there is a wideness in God's mercy" or that "the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind."
III
It wasn't too long ago - and some of you can remember when women in the Episcopal Church did not serve on vestries and were not elected as wardens nor elected as delegates to General Convention. It wasn't that long ago that women were excluded from reading the lessons in a worship service or serving as chalicers or even as ushers. It is only in the last three decades that women have been ordained as priests and bishops. And it is only three years ago that Gene Robinson, a gay man living in a committed relationship, was elected by the diocese of New Hampshire as its bishop and then confirmed by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Not everyone is happy with these decisions. There are still many who want to restrict those who would prophesy or do good works in Christ's name.
Let us pray. O God, there's a wideness in your mercy like the wideness of the sea. Help us to be alert to those who would silence the prophets inside the church and in the world. Help us listen to the voices of the poor, the elderly, the sick, the unemployed, the widow, and the immigrant. Help us see all who are silenced and beaten down. As Jesus embraced people on the margins and brought them into the community of his fellowship, so may we listen to the voices who cry for justice in our midst.
Amen.