Sunday, June 14, 2020

Proper 6 (A) Online Sermon

Calm me, O Lord, as You stilled the storm. Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm. Let all the tumult within me cease. Enfold me, Lord, in Your peace. Amen.

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching, proclaiming the good news, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim and heal…

But he didn’t send them to the rich and powerful, instead, he sent them to the sick, lepers, the lost, he is sending them to the fringes of society to proclaim, heal and renew their place in society.

Likewise today, Jesus is sending us out… the ill, the oppressed, the lost, the forgotten; they are screaming every night on videos we watch; we know they are crying out from beds, alone, and sick.

To these we are being sent. Do we see them? Will we listen? Will we proclaim the Good News and heal?

Many years ago, the powerful Eastern King Ts’ao sent his son T’ai to study under the great master Pan Ku, a sage renowned for his wisdom and enlightenment. Because the boy would one day succeed his father a sovereign, Pan Ku was to teach the prince the basics of being a good ruler.

When the prince arrived at the temple where the master resided, Pan Ku sent Prince T’ai out alone to Ming-Li Forest. After a year, the boy was to return to the temple to describe the sound of the forest. When T’ai returned, Pan Ku asked the boy to describe all that heard.

“Master, I could hear the cuckoos sing, the leaves rustle, the hummingbirds hum, the crickets chirp, the grass blow, the bees buzz, and the wind whisper and holler.”

When the prince had finished, the master told him to go back to the forest to listen to what more he could hear. The prince was puzzled by the master’s request. Had he not discerned every sound already?

For days and nights on end, the young prince sat alone in the forest listening. But he heard no sounds other than those he had already heard. Then one morning, as the prince sat silently beneath the trees, he started to discern faint sounds unlike anything he had ever heard before. The more acutely he listened, the clearer the sounds became. A feeling of enlightenment enveloped the boy. These must be the sounds the master wished me to discern, the prince said to himself.

When Prince T’ai returned to the temple, the master asked him what more he had heard.

“Master, when I listened most closely, I could hear the unheard: the sound of flowers opening, the sound of the sun warming the earth, and the sound of the grass drinking the morning dew.”

Master Pan Ku nodded approvingly.

“To hear the unheard,” explained Pan Ku, “is a necessary discipline to be a good ruler. For only when a ruler has learned to listen closely to the people’s hearts, hearing feelings uncommunicated, pains unexpressed, and complaints not spoken of, can he hope to inspire confidence in his people, understand when something is wrong, and meet the true needs of his citizens. The demise of states comes when leaders listen only to superficial words and do not penetrate deeply into the souls of the people to hear their true opinions, feelings, and desires.”  [From “Parables of Leadership” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1992.]

In the Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples how to lead through humble service. For Jesus, to lead begins and ends with listening to those on the margins, not with judgment or condemnation, but with compassion and understanding. Prince T’ai learns that lesson from the wise Pan Ku, to hear the unheard.

May we learn that same lesson regarding our responsibility as faithful followers of Jesus — may we seek that same understanding in our proclaiming the Good News, of preaching peace to those who are far off and near, of bringing love and hope to those in need.

As Bishop Steven Charleston recently put it (& used on a Wednesday Noonday Meditation):

“Now is the moment for which a lifetime of faith has prepared you. All of those years of prayer and study, all of the worship services, all of the time devoted to a community of faith: it all comes down to this, this sorrowful moment when life seems chaotic and the anarchy of fear haunts the thin borders of reason.

Your faith has prepared you for this. It has given you the tools you need to respond: to proclaim justice while standing for peace. Long ago the Spirit called you to commit your life to faith. Now you know why. You are a source of strength for those who have lost hope. You are a voice of calm in the midst of chaos. You are a steady light in days of darkness. The time has come to be what you believe.”

For Jesus, the cornerstone of our faith, who lived & died for us, came down to us to heal the broken, bring life to the dead, cast out demons of darkness, and bring back into the fold those who are lost or marginalized.

We likewise as followers of Jesus are called to do the same in our lives to reach out in love and “kindness, for everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden…” (Rev. John Watson)

Will you do today to proclaim the Good News and hear the unheard and respond? Amen.

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