Matthew 13:44-52 (NRSV)
Jesus said to his disciples, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
Today the Episcopal Church commemorates one of the great hymnodists in the Anglican Tradition, John Mason Neale. According to Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, the Hymnal 1982 contains several original hymns and over 30 translations of Latin and Greek hymns attributed to John Mason Neale. Among them "Glory, Laud and Honor" and "Creator of the Stars of Night" and "Good Christian Men Rejoice." ( Yeah, I know, Neale wasn't very good at inclusive language.) Neale was also a humanitarian who started the Sisterhood of St. Margaret for the relief of suffering women and girls. (See page 510 of Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints).
Among the reflections that I would like to share here is Neale's very concrete connection between our worship and our work as Christians. What we pray, celebrate and sing in our worship needs to become our work in our daily lives. That is why at the end of each Liturgy we are dismissed with the words: "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord". Our response "Thanks be to God" is more than "thank God that long Liturgy is over" it is thanking God for the opportunity to go forward from our worship in the peace of Christ, to serve God in those we live, meet and work with. It is often easier to enjoy the beauty of our worship, music and Eucharist than it is to serve that someone at work that just drives us crazy. But, we are nonetheless instructed to go in peace from our worship to serve Christ in that very person.
We are also exhorted in our worship to go out and serve Christ in those who remain marginalized by the Church and society. Those include those who are still in second class citizenship due to their race, class, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, gender, religion, ability. That "treasure" that is the reign of God and that "pearl" spoken of in the Gospel associated with this commemoration is recognizing that what we Christians share in is so magnificent, that we do not want anyone to miss out on how wonderful it is. That is why the sacramental inequality of LGBTQ people to share in the Sacrament of Matrimony as well as Holy Orders is such a failure. This is also why the move by the Episcopal Church one year ago to allow LGBTQ people to discern a vocation to be Bishops as well as Priests and Deacons, and to develop liturgies to celebrate same-sex marriage rites was such a wonderful movement of the Holy Spirit. These movements recognize that the reign of God in Jesus that is celebrated in the worship of our church communities, is such a treasure and a pearl, that we cannot hoard it all for people who are heterosexual. If we want to reflect the idea that the reign of God is like that bursting net of fish, then we have to be open to LGBTQ people as well as people of other races, genders and the like, to crowd into the net to be included among God's holy people.
When John Mason Neale translated the great hymns into the English language, he enabled many people of various classes and languages to be able to sing about the greatness of the Christian Faith. Through John Mason Neale the Church reached out past those who only understood Latin or Greek and helped others to be able to understand and celebrate what it means to be a Christian in their own native language. The work of John Mason Neale was like Pentecost happening all over again. We in our time and day are part of another outreach, another Pentecost for the Church. We are including LGBTQ people who for years have been told that there is no place for them in the Church, unless they live up to a certain criteria of expectations. As we open the doors of our churches, expand our theologies to be more inclusive and make room for those previously excluded, the net that is the reign of God can stretch out and becomes more and more full so that others who want to join us in worship, prayer and service can find a place for them.
It is often said that when we sing about our Faith in Jesus Christ, it is one of the many ways that God the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to a greater understanding of God, others and ourselves. As we sing our hymns and pray through our Eucharist's this weekend, perhaps we can all pray that God the Holy Spirit will open our minds and hearts to those who are longing to hear the Good News. May God open us all up past our prejudices and hearts filled with the need to exclude others and infuse them with hearts and arms open to receive them into our churches and our human family.
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 13, Book of Common Prayer, Page 232).
Grant, O God, that in all time of our testing we may know your presence and obey your will; that, following the example of your servant John Mason Neale, we may with integrity and courage accomplish what you give us to do, and endure what you give us to bear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for John Mason Neale, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, Page 511).
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