Laurence: The People and the Poor are the Treasures of the Church.

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 (NRSV)

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,

"He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

The Episcopal Church along with the Roman church today commemorates a courageous martyr of the early Church.  Laurence was an archdeacon who was ordained by Sixtus II who was Bishop of Rome at the time.   Sixtus was arrested and martyred along with four other deacons during the persecution of Emperor Valerian on August 6th, 258.   Laurence was put to death four days later on August 10th.

In a sermon on St. Laurence, St. Augustine wrote and preached the following:

"Saint John the apostle was evidently teaching us about the mystery of the Lord's supper when he wrote: Just as Christ laid down his life for us, so we ought to lay down our lives for *each other. Laurence understood this and, understanding, he acted on it.  Just as he had partaken of a gift of self at the table of the Lord, so he prepared to offer such a gift.  In his life he loved Christ; in his death he followed in his footsteps." (Liturgy of the Hours, Volume IV Ordinary Time, Weeks 18-34, Pages 1305-1306, please note the change for the purpose of inclusive language).

While Sixtus was being led away to death he ordered Laurence to sell the treasures of the Church and give their proceeds to the poor.   Just before Laurence was martyred, the Roman Prefect ordered him to hand over the treasures of the Church.   Laurence returned to the Roman Prefect with all of the poor, homeless and children and replied: "Here are the treasures of the Church."   The Roman Prefect was so infuriated at Laurence's reply that he ordered Laurence to be roasted on a gridiron in the cemetary where Sixtus had been martyred four days earlier.  While Laurence was being roasted, at one point he yelled; "Turn me over boys, I am all done on one side." 

The words of Laurence to the Roman Prefect are most profound.  "These are the treasures of the Church."  These words spoken by Laurence sound like our Gospel from this past Sunday that said: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:34).  If what we treasure is the gold and silver then that is where our hearts will be.  But if we treasure people above things, again, that is where our hearts are.  Notice it was not the extravagant or the wealthy that were the "treasures of the Church" that Laurence offered, it was the poor, the marginalized and those who really needed what the Church had to offer in exchange for their expensive vessels.

Where do we find the treasures of the Church in 2010?  The treasures of the Church are not only valuables to the Church, but also what is of highest value to God who gives us everything that is good and holy.  Do we recognize individual people as being treasured by God, or are we still stuck on the "holy items" as being more important.  As an Episcopalian, I am so in love with the architecture of so many of the beautiful buildings, organs and vestments that help make Episcopal Liturgy what it is.   The magnificent Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, Trinity Church in Copley Square in Boston,  The National Cathedral in Washington, DC, Grace Cathedral in San Fancisco, California, and yes, St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota.   They are all beautiful worship spaces, with outstanding Liturgies and magnificent music.  Those too are among the many treasures of the Church, because they bring the true treasures of the Church that is the Body of Christ together to pray, worship and share in the Eucharist.  But, if we had none of those things, and all we had were the people including the poor, LGBTQ and the many people who are without the basic necessities of life and had only the Book of Common Prayer and some bread and wine to be come the Body and Blood of Christ, would we still see the people as the treasures of the Church?

When Laurence gave his life on that gridiron, he was martyred for what he believed, yes.  But, he was also martyred because rather than put the priceless treasures of the golden vessels into the hands of those who would have collected the monetary value from them, he instead offered what was truly priceless. He offered the people, the poor, the marginalized and those whom society considers "throw aways" and said that they are most important to the Church and to God. 

The ultimate treasure to God is all of us.  We are the treasure that God gave the life of God's only begotten Son on the Cross for.  God saw in all of us regardless of our class, culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression/identity, challenge, religion a priceless treasure for which God was willing to sacrifice God's perfect revelation so that we could have our salvation in God.  Each of us is that one pearl that God created and found so valuable, so precious, that God gave up everything God had to have us as that pearl that God treasures so much. (See, Matthew 13; 44-50).  In Jesus, God has showed that God does what God asks us to do.  "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  We are God's treasure, and we are where God's heart is.  God treasures us to such a degree, that God's heart was literally broken and pierced for our sinfulness, so that we could find holiness in God. 

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer and questioning people are so often told that we are not God's treasure because of our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.  The Gospel and this commemoration of Laurence tells us differently.  The Gospel makes it very clear that God has made LGBTQ people among God's monuments in the Church through Jesus Christ.   LGBTQ people are the fulfillment of Isaiah 56: 4, 5.

"For thus says the LORD:
To the eunuchs who keep my
     sabbaths,
  who choose the things that
     please me
  and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within
   my walls,
  a monument and a name
  better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting
     name
  that shall not be cut off."

The commemoration of Laurence reveals that those who remain without a place of honor and respect within society are the treasures of the Church, as well as in the heart and mind of God.  Due to the political, social and religious oppression that LGBTQ people experience, we are also given a place of priority in God's eye.  Lest I give the impression that LGBTQ people are the only priority of God, I would have to believe that the immigrant, the Native American, the African Americans, the Muslims, the sick that are without medical insurance, the many who have lost their homes during this economic recession, those who are denied basic human and equal rights all across the board, they too are the treasures of the Church, and in the heart and mind of God.   "For God so loved the world, that God gave God's only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life."  (John 3: 16).  The LGBTQ, the immigrant, the Native American, the African American, the Muslim, the sick who are without health care, the woman who chooses abortion, the couple who chooses to use a contraceptive, those who have lost their homes and others who are denied basic human rights are all part of the world that God's Son came to save from perishing.  They do not have to be perfected according to the high standards of the Church to be treasures of the Church.  And they do not have to abide by outdated interpretations of the Bible that do not apply to them, to be treasured by God to be loved and saved.

All Christians are asked to do, is love everyone.  Christians are not asked to like everyone.  There is a difference.  What we are asked to contemplate about today is that God's Holy Spirit treasures all people, seeks our common good and does not condone violence, oppression, cruelty or prejudice.  The Church that is God's people are asked to work to end violence, oppression, cruelty and prejudice that keeps us from seeing all people as God's treasure, and that is where God's heart is.  What is our treasure?  Where are our hearts?

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 14, Book of Common Prayer, Page 232).

Almighty God, you called your deacon Laurence to serve you with deeds of love, and gave him the crown of martyrdom; Grant that we, following his example, may fulfill your commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving you with all our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Laurence, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, Page 519).