ECCLESIASTICUS 10:7-18

PSALM 112

HEBREWS 13:1-8

LUKE 14:1,7-14

Sermon – August 29, 2004

I was reflecting the other day on what has changed in the now 20 years that I have lived in South Brunswick. A lot has changed, but I realized that one thing I haven’t done is change banks. I’ve kept my account with the same bank...which most recently is called Wachovia, and before that was called First Union, before that Constellation, Core States, maybe something else, and in 1984 was New Brunswick Savings Bank.

So much for not changing something.

And, of course, with each take-over has come a new packet of fine print – and each set of fine print is subject to change even if the name doesn’t change. And of course, there’s a lot that has changed far more than those banks. And we can depend on there being other changes in the world and in our lives – some of which we definitely did not choose ourselves.

So it is with great joy that I picked up and held close to my heart the magnificent final words of today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Through all “the changes and chances of this mortal life”, Jesus Christ is there for us and with us as himself, not subject to merger, acquisition, hostile takeover, annexation or conquest. And never will he “go out of business” or retire or hand us a new packet of terms and conditions. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Not that I think that all change is bad. Not in the least. In fact, we as Christians believe in change, indeed pray for change – at least every time we say “Thy Kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer, because when the Kingdom of God

comes in its fullness there will be change, big-time change with the abolition of war, suffering, disease, injustice, racism, poverty, wickedness and all manner of sin, and finally the abolition of death itself.

Those changes make any changes any of us have experienced look like – well, small change by comparison.

It’s just that some of the changes we have experienced may not exactly seem like foretastes of the Kingdom of God. No, not exactly. Some of them, quite the contrary.

So we need to do two things. First hang on to Jesus Christ, who is unchangeable in his love, wisdom and power. He is as eager to transform each and all of us and all people to be more like him as he ever has been, so if we want to experience forgiveness, healing, insight, strength, compassion and a connection with all creation as never before, the opportunity is open to us every day. And those experiences are just part of what he offers.

I thought of this as I stood two and a half months ago in several of the places St. Paul preached and taught in Greece. So much has changed since his time – in society and in the Church, and both will continue to change – but St. Paul’s message resounds to us through the centuries and over the oceans that separate his experience from ours. Likewise, the words of the anonymous author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that we can hang on to Christ no matter what else changes, for he does not.

Second, we need to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God by practicing, with our unique skills and perspectives, as part of the unique community of this Church and in the context of our place and time, timeless Christian virtues such as those enumerated in today’s Scriptures. “Let mutual love continue.” “Show hospitality to strangers.” Empathize with the oppressed. Honor marriage. Do not love money. Remember God’s generosity and companionship. Imitate the best leaders in the faith. And practice humility, as Jesus bid us to, and as Jesus practiced himself, “taking the form of a servant and emptying himself out” for our sake.

Life may change, the Church may change, but these principles do not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church