Church Pray for Yang Jianli and his familyJulie Seavy May 12, 2002 Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 1:1-14 1 Peter 4:12-19 John 17:1-11 "Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strength us and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before." I will confess to you that I am feeling very preoccupied today. I am feeling that lovely sense of anticipation. I know it is Mother's Day, which is nice, but that isn't it. And it isn't because it's nearly the end of the school year (which is great). I am preoccupied and antsy because this week one of the great spiritual leaders of our times comes to this parish, to this pulpit!! The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, former Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, will be here this Thursday. Archbishop Tutu, in this space, which we love and call home. He's coming to OUR HOUSE!!! Most Reverend, isn't that lovely? That he is. When I read his words or hear him speak, I take great comfort and inspiration from his belief that acts of goodness or compassion can overcome evil and that the great effort of our lives should be making the world a better place. Think about it. Hope triumphs! Cynicism is a sin! We are called to be determined, passionate, and joyful people! What a message! Who couldn't agree?!! Well, lots of people. I remember standing on the sidelines of a soccer field a few years ago. I struck up a conversation with another parent and soon we discovered a shared love of history. She told me about her interests in renaissance art and I learned some interesting details about religious art. Then we got to talking about my interests in 19th century social reform movements. She responded, "Ugh, do-gooders!" Took the wind out of my sails! A do-gooder, in case you haven't heard that expression, is just what it sounds like--someone who tries to make good things happen in the world such as adequate childcare, education, and safe working conditions. To be fair to this woman, I imagine her reaction meant to convey a dislike for people who put on airs about being holy or better than someone else. As in, "Oh, look at me, I go to church every Sunday and serve on 20 committees." I think we all feel a certain sense of "ugh" when we experience those sorts of folks, or worse yet, when we hear ourselves sounding that way. But given my other experiences with this woman, I would say that her response was more in the vein of, "Look I take care of my own--my family, my problems, my needs--let others do the same. It's not my concern. Who said the world should be a fair place?" Well, the short answer is Jesus. Today's stories take place in the immediate days after Jesus leaves his beloved community. Here, they are--the faithful--the friends and family of Jesus, gathered together wondering what in the world they are supposed to do now. He leaves them with a rather vague parting line, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Not much to go on, is it? You have to read the whole section called the Acts of the Apostles to figure out how these early faithful made sense of "what next." If Jesus said, "I glorified God on earth by finishing the work that was given me to do," then we who follow him must ask, what is our work? What have we been given from God to finish in our lifetime? We are to ask ourselves these questions over and over again. It is part of our worship; it is why we end every service, with a dismissal. You will hear it today, Leslie will stand at the back of the church and say in her rich voice --"Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit" or "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." What does this she? "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." What is this work of love and service? You wise church school students know the answer to this. Jesus gave us many examples, in his own life and words. Jesus spent time with sinners, or outcasts. He showed great care for the poor, he sought out the company and spirituality of children, and he thought that certain folks were especially "blessed"--the sorrowful, the peacemakers, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. And he said, "Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Persecution for righteousness is a complicated way of saying "doing good" can get you into trouble. Being passionate about justice and equality in this world is dangerous business. At the mild end of the spectrum, you can easily offend people, and at the other end of the spectrum--you can risk your life. If you were here last week you heard that one of our parishioners, Yang Jian-li, has taken such a risk. Jian-li was detained in China 16 days ago. He is someone many of you might not know. He is a gentle presence here. He often sits quietly in one of the back pews. But when he walks out those doors, he gives the world his all! Jian-li is a gifted scholar; he has a Ph.D. in Math from Cal-Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Political Economics from the Kennedy School at Harvard. He has devoted his life to working for a more democratic China. He is a passionate advocate of non-violence. He believes deeply in human rights, especially for the working poor in China--the many workers who cannot escape poverty despite entire lives spent working harder than any of us can ever imagine. And Jian-li is a devoted family man. He is a husband to Christina, a father to Aaron (a first grader at Driscoll School) and an uncle to Anita (at the Pierce School). I sat in their kitchen this past week where they have a big white board, where the kids practice their English with their parents. It read, "I live in a land where people are free. And joy is a birthright belonging to me. The future shines golden for our home." These words claim the sweet taste of freedom; they evoke the Kingdom of Heaven. Jian-li traveled to China because he believes it is his right to do so. He exercised his right to return to his home country after being illegally deprived of his civil rights in China 13 years ago after Tiananmen Square. Discussing his situation this past week I have heard people say, "Of course he was arrested, what did he think would happen?" "Why would he take such a risk?" The answers to such questions go to the very heart of what it means to "do good" in this world. Why should anyone have hope that change is possible? What can one person do? What about my personal needs or problems? How do we create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth? There are no easy answers to these questions, or at least no answers without struggle or sacrifice. But where would we be if others had not done the same? Who could have believed that South Africa would see Nelson Mandela as President? How can we begin to comprehend his sacrifice for freedom? He spent 27 years in jail. What if Desmond Tutu had given up, given in to simplistic solutions? What if he had said, "Don't speak of forgiveness, justice demands retaliation." We certainly know the tragedy of seemingly endless retaliation. Now think of the words that Mary read, the second reading today, which is about how to make sense of some of this. "Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good." There is triumph if your struggles can lead to a greater good--a place where the poor, hungry, and outcast are taken care of. That is righteousness. And that is blessed. So, what are we to do? How can we in this house, take care of Christina and Jian-li, Aaron, and Anita, members of our own parish family who are sacrificing so much for the hope of freedom? We can do our part to use the great means we have in this country to be heard. We can write to our Congressmen and thank them for their efforts on behalf of Jian-li. We can keep the faith, and hold up his situation again and again, if that's what it takes. But we have to do more than that. We are Christian people. We believe in the power of the Spirit. We have to pray. We have to believe the words of people, like Desmond Tutu, who have the authority of experience. Archbishop Tutu says he managed to endure through his own spiritual disciplines and the gift of the prayers of others on his behalf. His routine? He rises early every morning and spends an hour or more with God, in prayer and reading Scripture. In his healthier days, he took a daily walk, and he admits that often during the hard times, he was overwhelmed with tears and anger. He learned to sit in silence. He shared in communion. Listen to what he says: "Sometimes you may not feel like praying because your prayers are insipid. There is dryness, and God seems miles and miles away. But because you are faithful, you say to God, "I want to pray, and I will offer you these thirty minutes, God, even if it means fighting these awkward distractions for a few minutes." And because you are faithful, someone in South Africa,[ confined and alone], suddenly that someone receives an excess of grace; inexplicably it appears." Now someone in China, is also confined. This week as I have been praying for Jian-li, I've been thinking about the Chinese way of saying "to be careful" which is made up of the characters "to make small" and "heart". To be careful or cautious is to make your heart small or to little your heart. If caution is making your heart small, then courage must be found in love, in expanding your heart. Jesus asks us to expand our hearts and to courageously help others--those sitting right next to us, and those far away--be they in South Africa, at the Bonda Mission in Zimbabwe, or China. Let us, then, reach out in love. I ask you to stand. Put down your books and papers. A very wise woman I know says that life, as she understands it, is learning to take care of those in arms length. That's "doing good" in a nutshell. Now link arms with the people standing next to you. This is a holy gesture. Think of the times you link arms:
when you offer an arm to someone who is sick or elderly It is a sacred act. Let us close our eyes now, and stand together. I will offer a brief prayer and then let us be silent together for a minute and in our own words pray for Jian-li. Let us reach out, from this place, our home, to someone who is part of our family, very far away.
Loving God, -------------------------- |
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