This is a wonderful day as we gather with our Bishop to dedicate and bless our new Christian formation and ministry center. It’s the culmination of decades of visioning and planning. When I first came to Redeemer over 25 years ago that particular vestry knew that our facility was not adequate to do what God was calling us to do, and every vestry thereafter was aware of the need. Every strategic plan that we devised stated that need. In 2008 we were ready to begin planning for what we are celebrating today, but those plans were cut short by the economic downturn. After the economy turned around, if my memory serves me, it was about 2012 that we began planning once again in earnest for a new building for Christian formation and ministry. Thanks to the vision, efforts, and generosity of literally hundreds of people, we are here today to dedicate and bless a beautiful new building that will serve the people of this parish and this community for generations to come.
We’re doing this in the midst of Advent, and the Gospel appointed for today appears to be in sharp contrast to the celebratory mood of our parish. John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Couldn’t we have had something a little more joyful, like the parable of the man who built his house upon a rock? Surely we have built this new house upon a rock, the rock of Jesus Christ. Or what about the Gospel where Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, for to such belongs the kingdom of God?” We have a beautiful new nursery for our little children. That would’ve been a heartwarming Gospel for today. Instead, we have as our theme, “Repent!”
Upon reflection, however, you could say that this building is all about repentance. Many people think that repentance means simply being sorry for one’s sin. But that isn’t repentance in the biblical understanding of the word. Someone once said repentance is being sorry enough to quit. That’s closer, but still inadequate. St. Paul said to the Corinthians, “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation.” Godly grief, or sorrow, thus is not repentance; it produces repentance. The Greek word for repentance, Metanoia, means a change of mind, an about-face or conversion, the beginning of a new religious and moral life.” Repentance is a change of attitude. It’s not an emotional feeling, but a moral purpose.
While repentance takes different forms in different people, it always boils down to a change from living according to our own purposes to living according to God’s purposes. It’s what the Church has traditionally called conversion. In an article in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal, the psychoanalyst and author Erika Komisar states, “Today the U.S. is a competitive, scary, and stressful place that idealizes perfectionism, materialism, selfishness, and virtual rather than real human connection. Religion is the best bulwark against that kind of society. Spiritual belief and practice reinforce collective kindness, empathy, gratitude, and real connection.” That’s just another way of saying that we human beings need a change of attitude and a relationship with God provides that.
An admirer once asked the noted composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein what was the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation he replied, “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm or second horn or second flute – now that’s a problem. And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony.”
This is one of the most significant truths that John the Baptist proclaimed. It’s central to the Gospel. The purpose of the Christian life is learning to play second fiddle. First violin belongs to God and harmony comes only when we accept the position of second fiddle.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
2nd Sunday of Advent
8 December 2019