Acts 1:1-14

Psalm 47

1 Peter 4:12-19

JOHN 17:1-11

Sermon – May 8, 2005

On this Sunday after Ascension Day we remember two things. Jesus is no longer tangibly present in the world the way he was for forty days after his resurrection. And second, we are in the world – “but not of the world” – and as his followers we are commissioned to be “his hands and feet at work in the world”, the tangible presence of his love and power.

Sounds like an awesome undertaking. Us? Do that? Well, yeah: in today’s first lesson we hear Jesus tell his apostles “You shall be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth” – after telling them “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

Christians today are the heirs of the apostles, and we believe that Christians receive the Holy Spirit at baptism – though some may not respond to that commission and that empowerment, they are still part of who we are as Christians.

Bearing witness to Christ and his life-changing love and power can take us as far as Kenya or El Salvador – or down the street. Christ reached out mightily to the suffering, the powerless, the marginalized, the abused and the ostracized and not only healed them but incorporated them into the community – and if their old community wouldn’t take them back because it only wanted them to be sick or powerless, Christ invited them to be part of his community.

No wonder the man born blind, the Gerasene demoniac and blind Bartimaeus became Christ’s followers. No one else could deal with them being healed and whole except the One who made them so. And no wonder so many women became part of Jesus’ core group of followers, for he offered healing, respect and empowerment to women who experienced a “glass ceiling” so low they could barely stand up. But Jesus put no “glass ceiling”, no arbitrary limits for people based on irrelevant criteria like gender or socio-economic status, and when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost it became clear that God’s will was and is for all people throughout the world to be offered full, empowered membership as servants of God and leaders of God’s church. And to be empowered not for their own sake, but “so the world may believe” in Christ and so that the coming kingdom of God may be prepared for by acts of compassion, justice and liberation.

By us. You thought there was somebody else? If Christians don't stand for compassion, justice and liberation, who will? And if we don't stand for them, what do we stand for?

These acts, “being the hands of Jesus in the world”, may be simple ones – as simple, say, as inviting someone to come on a women’s retreat, where she suddenly discovers she has nineteen other sisters in Christ with her and for her, spiritual friends to share listening ears, wisdom, care, love and whatever specific gifts the Spirit has given to each of them.

This just happened – the most well-attended overnight retreat in the history of St. Barnabas – and already the powerful women on it are talking about future retreats and about monthly women’s gatherings for spiritual friendship and growth. The change some of the participants experienced in 24 hours was quite wonderful. Jesus said, “You will receive power.” “You will be my witnesses.” He wasn’t kidding.

Acts of compassion, justice and liberation can also deliberately and specifically touch people who have been abused, marginalized and sometimes ostracized. This parish has a long-standing ministry together with Women Aware, the non-profit agency which serves victims of domestic violence in Middlesex County. In early 1992, I was not looking forward to my first Mother’s Day without my mother, who had died of cancer the previous September. So I thought, “O.K., I’m feeling sorry for myself. Who’s feeling worse?” And then I reflected that it must be the absolute “pits” to be in a shelter for battered women on Mother’s Day.

So I called Women Aware and said, “Can this Church have an ingathering of gifts for the shelter residents this Mother’s Day, and a speaker?” They were delighted to say “yes” and “yes” – and the gifts overflowed the area around the altar, and filled a van. Reminders that someone loved these women on Mother’s Day, loved them simply because they were priceless children of God. That’s reason enough.

After that first Mother’s Day, people came up to me and said, “Now that Mother’s Day is over, do we have to stop giving?” And I said “no”, and so we’ve had baskets for donations year-round for 13 years now. And our Vacation Bible School students have an ingathering of gifts for the kids, some of whom, we tell them, come to the shelter without even a toothbrush, because they just had to get to a safe place when they could with what they could bring at the time. And in August, we make sure that every school-age child in the shelter goes back to school with the same school supplies that all kids need.

People in fear of their lives and safety need allies, allies who can provide safety, shelter, food, counseling, therapy for kids, and legal assistance. That is the ministry of Women Aware. All that can help to liberate, to empower people who have felt powerless and who have often been told they are worthless. No one is worthless; all people are priceless. God says so. But many people have never experienced being treated like they were worthwhile, never mind priceless.

It can take a while to heal from that. But we start here. Over these past 13 years a good number of people who are or who have become members of this Church have told me “I want to help because I was where they are now, and I know what it’s like and I want to offer a hand up.” Gifts empower the giver as well as the recipient.

And now we are taking the “hands up” approach further, as we help to resettle people into new homes who are, essentially, domestic “refugees”. We have refugees from other countries in our congregation, too, who have worked hard and are now offering a “hand up,” in part to give thanks for those who helped them when they needed it.

So – moving beds, tables and chairs, couches, silverware, whatever, helping someone to make a fresh start from scratch – all this is putting our hands at the service of God. Why do we do this? Because everyone deserves to be treated with respect because they are children of God, and to be offered allies as they experience empowerment to start new lives of safety, freedom, self-respect and mutual care.

Acts like this may seem small when we look at the site of the world’s problems, but cathedrals are built of individual stones, and the Kingdom of God itself is prepared for by countless individual acts that may seem small individually but together build something wonderful.

Besides, each act, no matter how small, is worth it. There’s an old story about a girl who walked down a long beach the morning after a big storm. She saw a starfish which had been thrown high above the high-tide line by the storm, and she picked it up and threw it back into the ocean. Then another, and another.

An old man came up to her and said, “Little girl, what are you doing?” “I’m throwing the starfish back into the ocean because if they don’t get back into the ocean, they will die.” “But this beach goes on for miles,” the old man protested. “You can’t possibly help them all. What can it matter?” The little girl picked up another starfish, looked at it intently, then with an especially vigorous toss threw it into the waves. “It matters to this one,” she responded.

If it’s worth doing for starfish, it’s certainly worth doing for human beings. Let us be Jesus’ hands at work in the world.

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church