Homilette for Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Fourth of July

(Genesis 21)

Above all the Fourth of July is time to celebrate. Some may want to listen to the music of marching bands. With no less civic pride we have chosen a more subdued celebration in the confines of church. Here we praise God for blessing our country with so much opportunity and no small amount of equality. Yes, we know that not all opportunity has been parceled out fairly. For this reason our celebration begins on a note of contrition.

The story of Hagar and Ishmael wandering in the desert mirrors an experience of contemporary America. Many immigrants are trying to enter this country via the southwestern desert. Frequently they, like the biblical desert wanderers, become lost and sometimes are found dying or dead. Their plight cries out for attention just as Ishmael weeps from thirst. Solutions, however, are not easily found as the report from Washington this past week shows. So we join our voices with the contemporary Ishmaels and Hagars in prayer to God for their well-being.

A sage law professor has observed that the United States is both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. A nation so large and promising as we are needs both to continue to prosper. Not today but tomorrow we should ponder what changes in laws are workable to fulfill the hopes of immigrants. With them in our midst, with all abiding by the rule of law, and with the blessing of the Most High the future will see an even greater America.

Homilette for Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle

(John 20)

Like Thomas sometimes we may prefer not to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. We may think that life would be neater if the end were the end. We would congratulate those who accomplished their goals – be they earning a million dollars, helping the poor, or raising a large family. We would not have to consider whether they (or ourselves for that matter) conform to Christ’s love and thereby merit eternal life.

But all that is wishful thinking. The gospel today asserts that Jesus has risen from the dead. He appears to a man who did not give credibility to the word of witnesses but insisted on touching the wounds of the crucified Christ. The doubter even turns into the person expressing the deepest faith in all the gospels. Thomas’ final words “my Lord and my God” mirror the statement of belief at the beginning of the gospel, “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God.”

Of course, we can deny the truth of Jesus’ appearance to Thomas. We can say that it is just a pious story fabricated to get simple people to believe. But such a stance denies our experience. It is not only that people of faith seem to live fuller, happier lives – that they face hardship with less turmoil and recover more easily from setback. It is also that when we call on Jesus in distress, “my Lord and my God,” we also experience the steadiness of his guiding hand.