Closing It Out

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the experience of observing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s General Assembly from afar. While it was not my main point, I mentioned that I had heard good things about the closing sermon delivered by the Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz.

The sermon was reflecting on Isaiah 58:6-12

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

The entire sermon is around 20 minutes and is worth watching in its entirety. It is cutting, clever, incisive, hopeful, and compassionate.

While you should watch the entire sermon, I pulled out an early excerpt from the sermon and an excerpt from the close of the sermon.

…

The passage we read is about worship.

This is a reminder that being a faithful person is not just the external outward signs of worship, it is also that worship and fasting must be accompanied by acts of justice, and that all of this together indicates righteousness. A beautiful worship service while the poor and hungry are shut outside of your fancy gates doesn’t cut it. An eloquent prayer when one ignores the immigrant and the widow doesn’t pass muster. Quoting scripture while mistreating your employees will not make you righteous. Declaring oneself agents of a true faith while committing spiritual violence against your siblings will not make you holy. Spirituality, expressed here in third Isaiah, is not about what goes on inside one’s heart. It is also what one actually does out there in the world.

…

We are here because all this together, this sin and this beauty, in one painful gorgeous mix, made today possible. This is not to say “suffering is character-building,” but

we are the church we are

because we were the church we were.

Sometimes, in the midst of our own failures, the sins of our forebears surrounding us, the grief of knowing we have benefited from the very same conditions that cause so much suffering, we trip ourselves up and forget we are loved, forgiven, and freed.

In the book, “My Friends,” a teenager asked her friend’s mother, “Is it horrible being an adult?" ... "Unbearable," the mother replied. "You fail with almost everything, all the time.”

We forget that in this failure, in recognizing it, in breaking the heart open, our hearts have the chance to become bigger. A broken heart is the moment of possibility.

Every time we work to feed or house or clothe someone, every person who goes free because we worked together, every person who was told they were not enough and learn they are worthy because we make it so, we live into the possibility of healing that which is broken.

I am heartened by our conviction to bring healing and I am flabbergasted by our audacity to believe we can do so, but do not be confused about our role. We are not agents, we are collaborators, if only because we have no other choice. God is the one who heals and we are the ones sent.

Liberation is still both possible and inevitable.

After all, our faith ancestors might be surprised? Horrified? That a queer biracial Asian American woman of Jewish and Japanese descent closes this assembly, that I might be a physical manifestation of the possibilities of our faith. How many of us are less our ancestors’ wildest dreams, and more the culmination of the liberation created by the space in the heartbreak they caused or endured?

…

Peace,

Rev. Jeff Fox-Kline

---

At Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church, we believe faith is nurtured in worship and lived out through love, compassion, and service. We'd love to welcome you to join us for worship and conversation as we seek to follow Christ together. If you'd like to learn more, visit us at 1200 S. Winton Road, Rochester, NY 14618, or give us a call at (585) 244-8585. We'd be delighted to welcome you.