From Confession to Maturity - Pentecost IX--Year B--August 2, 2009 - The Reverend David R. Williams

Creator God, you have made us not in one mold, but in many: so deepen our unity in Christ that we may rejoice in our diversity.  Amen.

“As the Lord lives,” King David says innocently, “the man who has done these nasty things deserves to die.”

Nathan, David’s most trusted advisor, confessor, pastor, priest, confidante, speaks to David. “You are the man.”

“You are the man.” David suddenly and most uncomfortably sees himself as never before. A mirror is thrown up by Nathan – a mirror giving David a chance to see himself in his truest form. 

“The man who has done this deserves to die.”  What an indictment! David condemns himself to die because of his own iniquity.

This incident involving Nathan, King David, Bathsheba, and Bathsheba’s dead husband, Uriah becomes a turning point in David’s character and faith development.  He faces a major flaw within his soul, confesses his sin and receives his punishment with grace.  David moves from confession to maturity.

In the Gospel lesson, the disciples look for Jesus as they are astounded by his miracles, by the amount of food Jesus creates from nothing. 

Jesus challenges the disciples, “You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”

The disciples confess and ask Jesus, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”

The disciples begin the move from confession to maturity. 

This morning’s Psalm 51 is apparently written by King David after Nathan’s confrontation, after David acknowledges his own shortcoming.

“For I know my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me; against you only have I sinned.”

Every Sunday we speak the words of the Confession – sometimes more than others the recited words come from deep within our hearts.

Each Sunday during the worship services we hear the same words from the Book of Common Prayer, during the summer, Rite I at the early service and Rite II at the 10:00 service: “Blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” I say in greeting.  “Blessed be His Kingdom, now and forever, Amen,” the congregation responds.

Same service every Sunday, same prayer of Confession, different Scripture lessons, different music, different Collect and prayers – but the real difference is you and I.  We are not the same people we were last week. We may have--certainly have—encountered through some situation great or small a new step of the faith process, an awakening, great or small, to our own shortcomings. Through some transcendental and mysterious act, voice, presence, and possibly through our own confession, we have become a more mature people of faith.  Think about it. We might share our stories in some way, we might even confess to one another.

The worship service may be the same.  We are different. 

A true story is told about a parking attendant of the Bristol Zoo in England.  The parking lot holds 150 cars and eight buses.  One attendant had been “manning” the parking lot for years – 25 to be exact.  The charge for parking one’s car is one pound or about $1.40—for parking the buses, $7. 

One day the attendant does not show up.  The person managing the Zoo says, “Oh well, we’d better call the City Council and ask them to send a new attendant for the parking lot. 

“Not our responsibility”, says the City Council spokesperson. 

“Well, wasn’t the parking attendant employed by the city?” the Zoo manager responds.

“No,” insists the Council spokesperson. 

Sitting in a villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (presumably) is a man who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimates at $560/day at the Bristol Zoo for 25 years.  That amounts to approximately $7 million for twenty-five years of work.

And no one even knows his name.

Bob Walker sent me this interesting story, and I share it with you now.  For in only one day, everything changes at the Bristol Zoo and in the life of an anonymous former parking lot attendant. 

The most astounding message in the story is: “And no one even knows his name.”

Who has been a part of our lives during this past week, who has helped to make my life a little easier, a little more comfortable?  Who has taken away my trash, checked my water meter, brought my mail to my mail box, patrolled the streets to keep me more secure, cleaned my mess at a public rest room or a restaurant table?  Who is the person sitting in a nearby pew, hearing the same words, praying the same prayers, worshipping alongside me? Have we met? What gumption did it take for this person to come through our sanctuary doors, what have they been through in their personal or work lives this past week?

Confession. 

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness.  Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.”

At the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, adjourned at the end of last week, one sermon was offered by religious writer and inspirational speaker, Brian McLaren. 

Without being specific, McLaren challenges the media’s take on the Episcopal Church’s decisions on gender issues. Headlines have insinuated that the Episcopal Church is trying to be more “inclusive” in order to grow Church membership. Not so, McLaren says.

McLaren pulls out the old church word “evangelism” to make his point.  “Evangelism” implies more large effort, a greater purpose for us as baptized members of the universal Church.

Using McLaren’s astute words, the confession might go like this:

“Leveraging our institution for God’s mission (not my personal mission) in today’s’ world means that we can’t afford to have a single one of us, as leaders in the church, to see ourselves as institutional maintenance people alone.  From the oldest to the youngest, from the most seasoned bishop to the most newly baptized disciple, we must see ourselves as leveraging the institution for the mission of making disciples and not vice versa.  Do you see the difference?” McLaren says, “If we seek to do evangelism for the sake of the institution, we will lose ground and experience frustration.  But, if we align and retool the institution (leveraging) for the grand biblical mission of making authentic, fully-formed disciples of Jesus Christ for the good of the world, I think we shall find God’s empowerment and blessing at every turn.”

Our own Senior Warden Scott Turner refers to this fine sermon of McLaren’s in the current edition of Comfortable Words.  Thank you, Scott.

We are a different Church this week. We are different people.

King David became a different person, a more mature servant of God after Nathan confronts him and David confesses. 

The disciples discover for themselves, as we discover every single Sunday, that the bread and wine offered to us is more than bread and wine, more than inclusion and increasing numbers. We discover new life through this bread from heaven and from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We become a more mature congregation. We find God’s empowerment and blessing, yes, at every turn and byway.  

“Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.”

Amen.