{"id":2647,"date":"2020-02-02T11:00:49","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T16:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/?p=2647"},"modified":"2020-02-02T13:41:45","modified_gmt":"2020-02-02T18:41:45","slug":"healing-in-sacrement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/2020\/02\/02\/healing-in-sacrement\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Turtledoves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here to hear the full service<\/a><\/p>\n

Malachi 3:1-4<\/a><\/p>\n

Hebrews 2:14-18<\/a><\/p>\n

Luke 2:22-40<\/a><\/p>\n

Click here to hear just the sermon<\/a><\/p>\n

Prelude:\u00a0 Pauline 13<\/em><\/p>\n

February 2, 2020.\u00a0 Candlemas.\u00a0 Ground Hog Day.\u00a0 A religious feast.\u00a0 A secular holiday.\u00a0 The consolation of Israel.\u00a0 The redemption of Jerusalem.\u00a0 For once, we turn our meditation, at communion, both outward and inward, both toward the shadow\u2019s length on to spring, and to the liturgy\u2019s turn from Christmas, and the blessing of the candles of 2020. Sometimes it is not the great mysteries, but the small ones\u2014a candle, a shadow\u2014that touch us and heal us.\u00a0 The little things.\u00a0 Like two turtle doves, a candle on Candlemas, a shadow on Ground Hog Day.\u00a0 Light a candle.\u00a0 Watch the shadow.<\/p>\n

One: Candlemas<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018525,600 minutes\u2019\u2026Midway into the old musical, RENT, the story a young woman appears at the door of her neighbor.\u00a0 Both are poor, lost, penniless and lonely.\u00a0 Like all of us, we long to connect with others, with our own truest selves, and with God.\u00a0 She knocks on the door, looking for a match with which to light her candle, for just a little warmth, just a little light. Unamuno on warmth: not the night that kills but the frost.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0 And she sings, \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d There is struggle in the air, and romance too.\u00a0 And what is wrong with that? \u00a0Here is a young man <\/em>wondering about profession, marriage, meaning.\u00a0 \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d\u00a0 Here is young mother,<\/em> raising children alone.\u00a0 \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d\u00a0 Here is a man, or woman, alone now<\/em> for the first time, this winter.\u00a0 \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d\u00a0 Here is a grandfather<\/em> listening for news of his grandson in military service, far away.\u00a0 \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d\u00a0 Here is a preacher<\/em> wondering how on earth to preach the gospel with Australia burning, China coughing, Washington exploding, Methodism imploding, \u201cWill somebody light my candle?\u201d\u00a0 Here you are, on the brink of faith, just about ready to accept your own acceptance, to connect with your own connectedness, to survive your own survival, to live in the peace of God.\u00a0 \u201cWill Somebody light your candle?\u201d\u00a0 Our friend Dr. Reid Cooper of Brown said last Sunday, \u2018faith is the positive response to the question, \u2018does life have meaning?\u2019\u2019\u00a0 True enough, at least to start.<\/p>\n

Watch our Sacristan, Come Sunday, just before the service, while some have gathered for quiet intercessory prayer, quietly lighting our candles, here on the altar.<\/p>\n

The Scripture for Candlemas illumines us:<\/p>\n

*The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple<\/p>\n

*Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested<\/p>\n

*Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors! That the King of Glory may come in<\/p>\n

*Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him; to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Jesus is our childhood\u2019s pattern.\u00a0 Day by day like us he grew.<\/em><\/p>\n

Simeon and Anna are older people,<\/em> who have some insight, even prophetic insight, into what is to come. \u00a0Luke<\/em> has apparently confused the rites of presentation and purification.\u00a0 \u00a0Consolation; <\/em>the fulfillment of Jewish messianic hopes.\u00a0 The consolation is the redemption of Israel, different phrases meaning the same thing. A light for revelation<\/em> to the unreligious,<\/em> and for glory<\/em> to the religious.\u00a0 <\/em>The old prophet sees, as promised, and Messiah has come \u201cfor all peoples\u201d.<\/p>\n

The feast of the Presentation, or Candlemas, is the conclusion of Christmas, and affords the blessing of candles, and the blessing of throats. One of the oldest feasts of the church, dating to the early fourth century, it conjured sermons by Methodius of Patara (died 312), <\/em>Cyril of Jerusalem<\/em><\/a> (died 360), <\/em>Gregory the Theologian<\/em><\/a> (died 389), <\/em>Amphilochius of Iconium<\/em><\/a> (died 394), <\/em>Gregory of Nyssa<\/em><\/a> (died 400), and <\/em>John Chrysostom<\/em><\/a> (died 407). <\/em>\u00a0So the church\u2019s liturgy joins with Scripture in teaching and testimony:<\/p>\n

*Dear people of God, forty days ago we celebrated the joyful feast of the incarnation of Jesus. Today we recall the day on which he was presented in the temple, fulfilling the law of Moses. Led by the Spirit, Simeon and Anna came to the temple, recognized the child as the Christ, and proclaimed him with joy. United by the same Spirit, we now enter the house of God, where we shall recognize Christ in the breaking of bread. <\/em><\/p>\n

*O eternal God, who have created all things; on this day you fulfilled the petitions of the just Simeon: we humbly ask you to bless and sanctify these candles for our use. Graciously hear our prayers and be merciful to us, whom you have redeemed by your Son, who is the light of the world, and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

*O God most powerful and most kind\u2026for Whose sake the glorious Martyr and Bishop, St. Blaise, joyfully gained the palm of martyrdom\u2026Thou Who didst give to him, amongst other gifts, the prerogative of curing by Thy power every ailment of men\u2019s throats\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

At our prayer station following communion, we can at least recognize the need for health particularly at this time around the globe.<\/p>\n

Come Candlemas, light a candle.\u00a0 It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.\u00a0 <\/em>This is not Confucius, Shakespeare, Proverbs or Ben Franklin.\u00a0 It is a line from a sermon, 1907.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe earliest appearance located by\u00a0QI<\/strong>\u00a0occurred in a 1907 collection titled \u201cThe Supreme Conquest and Other Sermons Preached in America\u201d by William L. Watkinson. A sermon titled \u201cThe Invincible Strategy\u201d downplayed the value of verbal attacks on undesirable behaviors and championed the importance of performing good works. Emphasis added to excerpts by\u00a0QI<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u2018But denunciatory rhetoric is so much easier and cheaper than good works, and proves a popular temptation. Yet is it\u00a0far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness<\/strong><\/em>.\u2019\u201d (Internet: QI)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Light a candle.<\/p>\n

Aeschylus:\u00a0 In our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our despair and against our will, comes wisdom, through the awful grace of God. <\/em><\/p>\n

Two: Ground Hog Day<\/em><\/p>\n

I have this response to those of you who will not abate the ongoing contention related to my claim that Ground Hog Day is the best of all holidays:<\/p>\n

In the ministry you offer to God and neighbor all weekends, most evenings and most holidays, and then work 9-5, Monday to Friday.\u00a0 All this takes a chunk out of the year.\u00a0 Holidays, in particular, carry, shall we say, some stress.\u00a0 Christmas, for an example.\u00a0 There are expectations.\u00a0 Special services.\u00a0 People.\u00a0 Doings.<\/p>\n

Behold the blessing of February 2!\u00a0 An utterly ordinary day, and a holiday to boot!\u00a0 No expectations.\u00a0 No special services.\u00a0 No people.\u00a0 No Doings.\u00a0 Just the blessing of a single, average, wintry, bereft of expectation day.\u00a0 Ground Hog Day.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t get better than Ground Hog Day.\u00a0 A quiet, ordinary, no frills day.<\/p>\n

But\u2026What is ordinary about any day, anyway?<\/p>\n

Every one of them is a gem.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s child is fair of face<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s child is full of grace<\/em><\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s child is full of woe<\/em><\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s child has far to go<\/em><\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s child is loving and giving<\/em><\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s child works hard for a living<\/em><\/p>\n

But the child that is born on the Sabbath Day<\/em><\/p>\n

Is happy, witty, bright and gay!<\/em><\/p>\n

Every day is a chance to do a good turn.\u00a0 Do one daily.\u00a0 BE: Trustworthy Loyal Helpful Friendly Courteous Kind Obedient Cheerful Thrifty Brave Clean Reverent.<\/em><\/p>\n

We have reminders, don\u2019t we, of ordinary daily wisdom, quotidian quips<\/p>\n

Some are cultural:<\/em><\/p>\n

A stitch in time saves nine\u2026An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure\u2026Look before you leap\u2026eternity in a grain of sand, heaven in a wild flower<\/p>\n

Some are familial:<\/em><\/p>\n

(To complaining): You would complain if you were to be hung with a new rope\u2026(To time waste): Never try to teach a pig to sing.\u00a0 It wastes your time.\u00a0 And it annoys the pig\u2026(Too constant questions):Are you a journalist or are you writing a book?…(To inquisitive children): Where were you before you were born?\u00a0 Down in Canada boiling soap.<\/p>\n

Some are national:<\/em><\/p>\n

Give me your tired, your poor\u00a0 Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free\u00a0 The wretched refuse of your teeming shore\u00a0 Send these, the tempest tossed, to me\u00a0 I lift my lamp beside the golden door.<\/em><\/p>\n

In truth, there are no ordinary days, no insignificant holidays.<\/p>\n

Emily Webb stands as our fiercest sentinel to the landscape of this, truth, the Gospel on Ground Hog Day, out of the imagination of Thornton Wilder, brother to the great New Testament scholar, Amos Wilder, both New Englanders.<\/p>\n

You will remember that she and George were graduated from High School in Grover\u2019s Corners.\u00a0 On the basis of a frank talking to over a soda, in which Emily criticizes George for being less than fully humble, George decides not to leave home, not to go to college, but to start working an uncle\u2019s farm right away, and to marry Emily, the girl next door.\u00a0 You remember their wedding. \u201cA man looks pretty small at a wedding, all those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure the knot is tied in a mighty public way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 You remember that Emily, after just a few years of profoundly happy marriage and life, tragically dies in childbirth.\u00a0 You remember that George finds no way to manage the extreme grief of his loss.\u00a0 Simple Yankee English.\u00a0 Simple reckoning about love, life, death and meaning.<\/p>\n

Maybe you also remember, in the playwright\u2019s imagination, Emily from the communion of saints looking out on her young husband and wanting to go back. Others warn her away from the plan: \u201cAll I can say Emily, is, don\u2019t\u2026it isn\u2019t wise\u2026(If you must do it) Choose an unimportant day.\u00a0 Choose the least important day of your life.\u00a0 It will be important enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

She chooses February 11, 1899, her 12th<\/sup> birthday.\u00a0 She arrives at dawn.\u00a0 She sees Main Street, the drugstore, the livery stable, and breathes the brightness of a crisp winter morning.\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 She looks into her own house.\u00a0 Her mother is making breakfast, her father returning from a speech given at Hamilton College.\u00a0 Neighbors pass in the snow.\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 She sees how young and pretty her mother looks\u2014can\u2019t quite believe it.\u00a0 It is 10 below zero.\u00a0 There is fussing to find a blue hair ribbon: \u201cit\u2019s on the dresser\u2014if it were a snake it would bite you\u201d.\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 Papa enters to give a hug and a kiss and a birthday gift.\u00a0 And others from mother and the boy next door. Simple.\u00a0 \u201cJust for a moment now we\u2019re all together.\u00a0 Mama, just for a moment now we\u2019re all together.\u00a0 Just for a moment we\u2019re happy.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at one another.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Simple.\u00a0 This is the gospel of Ground Hog Day, the best holiday of the year, the holiday of the extraordinary ordinary, of the uncommonly common, of the sunlit winter, of the eternal now.\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 Grover\u2019s Corners.\u00a0 \u201cPapa. Mama.\u00a0 Clocks ticking.\u00a0 Sunflowers.\u00a0 Food. Coffee.\u00a0 New ironed dresses.\u00a0 Hot baths.\u00a0 Sleeping.\u00a0 Waking up. Earth, you are too wonderful for anybody to realize you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the shadow.<\/p>\n

In truth, there are no ordinary days, no insignificant holidays.<\/p>\n

Said BU Philosopher Erazim Kohak:\u00a0 \u201cA life wholly absorbed in need and its satisfaction, be it on the level of conspicuous consumption or of marginal survival, falls short of realizing the innermost human possibility of cherishing beauty, knowing truth, doing the good, worshiping the holy\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Postlude:\u00a0 Beatitudes<\/em><\/p>\n

-The Rev. Dr. Robert Allan Hill, Dean of Marsh Chapel<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to hear the full service Malachi 3:1-4 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 Click here to hear just the sermon Prelude:\u00a0 Pauline 13 February 2, 2020.\u00a0 Candlemas.\u00a0 Ground Hog Day.\u00a0 A religious feast.\u00a0 A secular holiday.\u00a0 The consolation of Israel.\u00a0 The redemption of Jerusalem.\u00a0 For once, we turn our meditation, at communion, both outward and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}