Fr. Rick’s 5 Paragraphs - Feast of Christ’s Episcopal Church , October 4, 2009
At the request of several people, below are the 5 paragraphs Fr. Rick used in his sermon October 4
Four years ago or was it forty, we dedicated and consecrated this building to God’s Presence, Compassion, and Spirit of Being for the Church, each other, and the whole of Creation. Over these past four years we have struggled to find our mission and live it out. We have organized and reorganized. Vestry members and parishioners have engaged, worked, played, stumbled, fallen, stood tall, persevered, changed direction and wondered how to do what to do. People have come and gone through our revolving doors, been blessed, fed, stayed and left. New children have been born and baptized while others have grown, graduated, and moved on. A few of us have grown old and died while others have grown younger and found new life.
Today we stand, sit, and kneel in a reconfigured space. We now take a different perspective so we might see With new eyes. Today we look to see the Vertical dimension of Life more clearly as it intersects with the horizontal dimensions of our day to day activities. We are beginning to see more clearly that ‘I Am’, God, really is with us and will never not be present with us. We are coming to realize more fully that God, the Source of Life, is in this place and, wherever we are and, we forget to remember this.
How awesome is this place? This is, like a million other portals, none other than the House of God, a gate to the Kingdom of Heaven that lies deep within everything that is and especially in you and me. This is a portal where angels, archangels, and all the company of Infinite Life ascend and descend to awaken us to the Ineffable Presence of Divine Human Life.
This feast day of Christ’s Episcopal Church is a reminder that we are not alone on this journey. The visible and invisible messengers, the vast hierarchy of Being gather together to help us Remember, Reconnect and Realign with the Very Presence of I AM radiating from the depths of All that is and ever shall be.
Today we acknowledge this Guidance, this Nurturance, this Support, this ever present Spirit of Loving Kindness as we begin to embrace a Call to a new mission of Service. Today we pray for a greater opening and receptivity to the Abundant Grace that is here to embrace. Today we give great Thanks for the Christ Light that shines in the eyes of every child and in the depths of every heart. Today we stand in solidarity with all those who have gone before us giving of themselves so that we might continue that gift of giving and sharing for All. Today we recommit ourselves to the mission of keeping Love’s way here, there, and everywhere always bringing LIFE to life.
Amen
