June 24, 2007 - "Our Message To the World"

4 Pentecost, Proper 7, Year C
Zechariah 12:8-10; 13:1
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 9:18-24


I will never forget one of the first times I was visiting home from college and getting a haircut. The hairdresser asked me if I knew what I was going to major in yet. I replied, "Religious Studies." This prompted the inevitable question, "So what are you going to do with that?" With caution, I said, "I am thinking of becoming a priest" This was followed by a long awkward pause.... She gave me that look. The look as if she slowly wanted to back out of the room. She finally said, "Oh that's nice." The topic seemed to make her very uncomfortable. This was the first time I had ever had a negative reaction to me exploring the priesthood. This is also one of the first times I had told someone who was not a part of the church.

I would like to say that things changed when I was ordained, but there are still people who give me an unsure look when I am dressed in clerical collar or when my profession comes up. I remember riding the subways in New York in my clerical collar and feeling people staring at me.

Not all the reactions are negative, but I can safely say that it is not easy being a priest today; in fact, it is not easy to be a Christian these days.

We live in a world where the words "Christian" or "the Church" mean very different things to very different people. As a whole Christians send very mixed messages to the world. Christianity is a diverse religion with many differing views of the world. To many people with a negative view of Christianity, "Church" is all the same.

The first parish I worked at was in the heart of Greenwich Village in New York City. I coordinated the Outreach Ministries of the parish. One ministry of the parish was a Saturday night program for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender youth. Most of these youth were homeless, some were prostitutes, some were drug users and all were on the margins of society.

These youth hung out around the piers just a few blocks from the church. Every Saturday night, this church opened the doors of the church school to them and provided an art workshop and dance workshop, hot meal, and social workers.

I would put on my clerical collar each Saturday and show up at the program. I was beginning to wonder how effective my presence was there and whether I should wear a clerical collar or dress more casually. The Social Worker encouraged me to continue to wear my collar because it was important for these youth to see a representation of the church.

Then one day I realized just how important it was. A group of about 4 or 5 teenagers entered through the back door closest to the piers. I answered the door dressed in my clerical collar. I recognized the first couple of youth who entered, but the last youth in the door exclaimed, "Hold up, is this a church?" His friends exclaimed, "Uh, yeah" and proceeded to make their way through the door. The last youth then said with a skeptical voice, "I thought the Church hated us." My heart sank. I somehow had the sense to say, "Not this church."

This gay youth had been taught somewhere that the church hated him just because he was gay. Unfortunately, this lesson has been taught to other groups throughout church history. Women were told they could not teach or preach. People of color were told that the Bible justified their slavery. Even closer to home, these galleries above were once reserved for people of color and later for Yale students. The church has not always sent the best messages of who we really are.

The message of Paul's letter to the Galatians, "...in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith...There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise." In Paul's time it was the Gentiles who stood on the margins of society and who he strived to have included in the Body of Christ.

The Church and the world have always had an interesting relationship. As Christians, we need to have a voice in the world. There are many people who claim to follow Jesus and who see taking up the cross as excluding those who do not fit their idea of what the church should be. The world needs to hear our voice as well.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" There are a variety of answers. Jesus knows who he is, but he still asks the question. He wants to know what people are saying about him, he wants to know what message he is sending to the world.

It is important in a relationship to listen and to ask questions. What message are we sending to the world? Do we know what the crowds are saying about us? Who do the crowds say the church is? What do those living in New Haven say about Trinity Church on the Green?

A few weeks ago, I visited my home parish in Virginia Beach to preach while the rector was on sabbatical. After the service a new couple came to me and asked me, "You are at Trinity on the Green in New Haven, right?" and I said, "Yes, do you know it?"

The woman replied, "Yes, our son worked at Yale-New Haven Hospital and we attended with him when we were in town. I remember when we entered the church there was a homeless man directly in front of us. He was handed a bulletin and shown to his seat just as cordially as we were."

That is the Trinity Church that I have come to know; Trinity is a place where all are welcome. Trinity is a place where we invite all to come as they are, a place that strives to welcome all who enter their doors. This is a message that the world desperately needs to hear.

I am sure there are others that have a different impression of us. Maybe they know of our great music program, maybe of our outstanding preaching, or maybe it is just that pretty stone church on the Green. It is our job to tell them what Trinity really is.

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words." Sometimes it is necessary to use words, sometimes we need to verbalize our stories; to verbalize what the church is to us. It is one thing to hang a banner outside a church, but it quite another to hear it from a person.

It is not easy to be a Christian these days. People may look at us a little funny or not understand why we do the things we do. People may not understand why we are so committed to God and to this Church. We live a world where the Church sends mixed messages and these messages have wounded countless people.

Part of following Jesus is committing to heal these wounds. It could be as simple as treating someone on the margins just as you would like to be treated. It could mean taking a risk and telling people what Trinity is to you.

What does the world say about Trinity on the Green? What do you say to the world?

Amen.