Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Interfaith Sunday)

My invitation to speak this morning, arrived last summer at a party! The 5^th Anniversary party of Christ Our Hope Catholic Church in the Pike Place Market. Mixing among the crowd was Father Paul. When he saw me, he exclaimed, “Jamie, you are on the preaching schedule next January.” I said, “Really?” Imagine that: a Protestant Evangelical pastor receiving an invitation to preach at a Catholic Church; while breaking bread and drinking wine with a priest at a party!

My invitation to speak came with several SERMON TEXTS. . . one from the Old Testament; one from the Psalms; one from the New Testament letters and one from the Gospels. And by the way, you have only 10 minutes!

• I’m used to preaching on just ONE Biblical TEXT; given 30 minutes!

My invitation to speak also came on an occasion! Inter-Faith Sunday; during the Octave of Prayer for Christian unity; 8 days between the feasts of the apostles Peter and Paul. Public and private prayer for the unity of Christians: Catholic, Orthodox & Protestant.

• I was ordained in a denomination that won’t participate formally in the ecumenical movement.

Yet, I accepted the invitation to speak today for one major reason: At COH, I’ve discovered people who worship authentically and relevantly. It’s life giving!

The Old Testament reading today from the book of Nehemiah provides a powerful picture of people who worship. Ezra the priest, standing on a wooden platform, reading out of the book of the law from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, women, and those children old enough to understand. Praising God, bowing down, weeping, rejoicing, eating and drinking.

The apostle Peter’s feast day as part of octave of prayer for the week of Christian Unity is so appropriate. His voice clamors to be heard today! Especially to our North American, individualistic, postmodern selfie culture.

Before we hear Peter’s voice, I’d like to buy a vowel! The letter “A”! I’d like to amend my earlier statement about discovering people who worship authentically and relevantly.  Let me say it this way: At COH, I’ve discovered “A PEOPLE who worship authentically and relevantly.” Its plural, it’s communal.

And it speaks to one of the greatest opportunities to share the Gospel today: formation of a people; a community who authentically worship in Spirit and in Truth.

Listen to Peter’s voice (I Peter 2:4-10), “As you come to him, a living stone . . . you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.. . . . You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people but now you are God’s people.”

1. So to sum up my first point: Authentic and relevant worship is COMMUNAL! It’s about forming “A PEOPLE”! The people of God – In New Testament language; the church.
2. And my second point follows right after, it’s INCARNATIONAL . . . Authentic and relevant worship is centered in incarnational reality of God – Jesus! John 1:14 “the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” A truth emphasized the past month during Advent and Christmas!

The New Testament reading today from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians takes this truth a step further: Jesus is the living head, and we are the incarnational reality of his body – the BODY of CHRIST and we individually are members (I Cor 12:27)”.

In another one of Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, he further underscores this same truth. Reading from Ephesians 4:4-6. “There is one body and one Spirit”  “just as you were called to one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”

This one, living body of Christ is also an historical reality. When I preached this same message to my home church last August, here is what I exclaimed.

Those of you who call North Seattle Alliance Church your home church: we have a 60 year history. We are part of a Protestant evangelical and missionary denomination called the Christian & Missionary Alliance. Which has a 128 year history! Yet, we are part of a much larger body of Christ! With a 2000 year history; Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, with a Jewish heritage; which has a 4000 year history!

We share a common Story, common history, common creeds – The Apostles Creed; the Nicene Creed. Important expressions of commonly held beliefs – Key doctrines of Christian faith – the Trinity: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit; . . . . the Incarnation: Jesus is fully God AND fully human! And the church: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church (the Creed says), the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting! Amen! . . . Amen!

One of my all-time favorite hymns is, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, lyrics by Martin Luther, who sparked the Protestant Reformation about 500 years ago.  in part to bring renewed emphasis to these foundational truths: “justification by faith . .. in Christ, our hope! It’s grace; a gift!
“Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing; Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he. Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same, and he must win the battle.”

Authentic and relevant worship is communal, centered in the WORD who became flesh; Christ Jesus, it is he! AND I love how this truth is emphasized at Christ our Hope Catholic Church!

1. Finally my 3^rd point: WORSHIP IS ABOUT A MEAL – Its Trinitarian! Authentic worship is communal, centered in WORD and TABLE.

The Gospel reading today is from Luke. Luke tells the story of Jesus returning to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; news of him spread everywhere. He taught in their synagogues. He was praised by all.

In his hometown synagogue, he stood up to read the passage in Isaiah where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. 

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “TODAY, THIS SCRIPTURE PASSAGE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.”

Jesus sits down a lot in Luke’s Gospel; sitting at tables, eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners.

As one 1980’s song lyric says it, “God and Man at Table Are Sat Down.

The Nicene Creed affirms that it is a Triune God sitting around the table: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified.

Since a picture paints a thousand words . . . I brought a picture of a medieval religious painting by a 14^th century Russian artist, Andrew Rubev . . . entitled “The Holy Trinity”. 

The painting takes as its subject the mysterious story where Abraham receives three visitors as he camps by the oak of Mamre. He serves them a meal. On one level this picture shows three angels seated under Abraham’s tree, but on another it is a visual expression of what the Holy Trinity means, what is the nature of God, and how we approach him. Reading the picture from left to right, we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Notice the setting – a table! a cup! It’s communal! One God, Three Persons;

Authentic and relevant worship is communal, centered in WORD AND TABLE

Imagine! A Catholic priest’s invitation accepted by a Protestant Evangelical pastor; to preach the homily in his home parish; after breaking bread and drinking wine at a party!

Today this really happened at Christ Our Hope Catholic Church

Imagine a people of God! Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb; at the end of all history.

Finally, . . . the high priestly prayer of Jesus will be answered,

“Father, that they may all be one, just as you are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17: 21)

As Father Paul would say, AMEN? . . . . AMEN!

Rev. Jamie Greene