Year B — 7 Easter

The Rev. Gerald W. Keucher

I imagine that most of you know that the Church observes an Easter Season of 50 days — 40 days from Easter Day to Ascension Day, which was last Thursday, and then 10 days later the Feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday.

During the six Sundays from Easter Day until Ascension Thursday when we remember how Jesus ascended into heaven in the sight of the apostles, our focus is on how we are connected to the Risen Lord.

Next Sunday is Pentecost, when we celebrate the Holy Spirit lighting on the disciples and inspiring them to share with everyone around them the mighty works that God is doing in the world.

Today, the Sunday that falls between Ascension Day and Pentecost has a kind of between-times feeling. Jesus has ascended, but the Holy Spirit has no yet come. What the disciples knew is gone, but the new isn't here yet.

I want to think a bit about the times in our lives when we find ourselves between the familiar that is gone and the unknown.

There are other kinds of between-times that fill us with a kind of anxious foreboding, as we watch the dear old familiar things pass away. We see friends and family age and die. Children grow up and leave the nest, and we need to establish new kinds of relationships with them and their new families.

The in-between times. I hardly need to say that all of you who’ve been here at Intercession for a while must be feeling a little of this right now. Canon Williams’ long tenure is over, and we are still surprised by his sudden death. Luisa Murrell was buried last Monday, and Dr. Harris lies gravely ill. We know the past is gone, and we do not know what the future will look like.

As I've pointed to the between-times in the lives of the disciples and in the life of this parish, I hope you've thought of some of the between-times experiences in your own life. So let's think a little bit about how these unsettled times work.

First, we're always between the times, at least in some areas of our lives. Job, family, fiends, health—things never stay the same. We're forever saying good-by to something or someone we love and preparing to meet some changed situation. We're always between the times.

Second, it's good to feel sad about what we have lost or what we face losing in these between-times. There'd be something very wrong with us if we weren't sad. The Psalmist cries out to God, "Like a moth you eat away all that is dear to us; truly everyone is but a puff of wind." Of course we’re sad to see things and people we love pass from the scene. It's good for us to love what we know and to mourn its passing. We can’t get stuck here, however, because there are two more things to say about the in-between times.

Third, the in-between times will come, and we can't stop them. Those we love will sicken and die. Children grow up. Our parishes change. We cannot keep things the way they are. Deep down we know this, but this realization is not enough unless we remember the final point I want to make about the between-times.

The last thing is that the loss of what we love is not the last word. God is not absent from the between-times. Lots of us say we accept the inevitability of change, but it makes us feel hopeless and resigned and even bitter because we think that God has acted only in the past.

The disciples could have responded the same way after Jesus' ascension. They could have gone their separate ways after the Ascension, thinking, "Well, I guess it'll never be the way it was." And they could have gone off, telling their grandchildren much later, "Years ago this was a great area. I still remember how wonderful it was when we were all following Jesus around, and everybody knew everybody, and nobody had to lock their doors. That's all gone now."

The basis of this attitude—which I hope we can all recognize—is that God's actions are all in the past, and nothing good can happen now.

But God is always acting now. When Jerusalem had been destroyed, and the people were in exile weeping by the waters of Babylon over what had been lost, the prophet Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord to them: "I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope…When you search for me you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart, you will find me, says the Lord."

We are always in some kind of in-between time. If we are sad at what we are losing or about to lose, that's good because it means we have loved what God has given us. But if we forget that God is always working now, if it never occurs to us that God Himself may have brought about the change that grieves us, then we will not search for His hand in what is happening to us now. We will be blind to the plans He has for us, plans for our welfare and not for harm — plans to give us a future with hope.

Fortunately for us, the disciples stayed faithful during their between-times. They could not possibly have imagined the future God had planned for them. As a direct result of the plans God had for that tiny group 2000 years ago, we are gathered here this morning to search for God's hand in what we are experiencing today.

God has plans for you and plans for me. God has plans for this great parish. God is preparing for us a future with hope. Whatever our situation, God has not left us comfortless. Whatever we have lost, God has plans for our welfare and not for harm. Whatever we fear losing, God wants to give us a future with hope. If we look for Him in what is happening to us, we will surely find His loving hand even in our sorrows—especially in our sorrows.

And when we recognize Him, we will know that we can trust His promises and His plans for us — whatever they turn out to be.

Now, my days of dating — such as they were — are long over. Or at least I thought they were. But I got set up recently on a blind date, and so did all of you. Bishop Sisk decided to fix us up, and I showed up at a Vestry meeting and then here at the end of April to introduce myself to you.

I may not be the guy you wanted. But I want to tell you that, at least on my part, in the last month I’ve fallen head over heels in love with this parish. I’m in love with you and with this wonderful place. I am deeply committed to doing everything I can to move us all into a great future.

I’d like to suggest that the passage from Jeremiah that I quoted in my sermon (at 8 o’clock) be our watchword — our motto: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

I want to talk more next week about our present and our future. If I were in the White House I would bill my sermon next week as a “major address” on the future of Intercession and how we can move into that future in a way that not only strengthens the parish, but that also opens us up so God to transform our lives. I believe that the future of Intercession involves not just the revival of the parish community but a life-changing revival in the hearts of all of us.

I invite you to make a point of being here next week. And not just you. I know there’s a grapevine here. People talk to one another, and I’m glad for that. I ask you please to get that grapevine humming and invite others here.

There may be some people who used to come here who may have stopped in recent years for one reason or another. You know who they are. Especially if they aren’t connected to another parish right now, pick up the phone and ask them to consider coming back next week.

There may be people you know — co-workers, neighbors, friends — who you know don’t go to church. I ask you to invite them here. This is a surpassingly beautiful church building with great music and a warm, loving and dedicated congregation of people whose hearts God has touched. Ask them to try it out next week.

This’ll be a great preparation for our Friends and Family celebration next month. If the Lord has filled your cup to overflowing with love for this parish, allow that love to flow out to others, and invite them here.

And to help us prepare for that, please bear in mind what I’ve said in previous weeks about overcoming our shyness and introducing ourselves to people whose names we don’t know — even if we think we should know what their names are.

As you join with everyone else for coffee and refreshments in the Common Room, find at least one person whose name you don’t know, introduce yourself, and start a conversation. It really isn’t very hard. You’re all great people. Let’s get to know one another better. If you see someone who is by himself or herself, leave whatever group you’re with, and go over to find out who they are, and invite them into your circle.

This is Basic Christian Community 101. We’ll keep talking about this.