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"You never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure
foundation of your loving kindness."
That is a quote from the Collect for today. It talks about a very specific God that never fails to
help and govern. It is in the context of the lessons we heard that we know what kind of God never fails
us.
This is about the God who calmed the seas when the disciples were afraid, as we heard in the
Gospel. This is about the God who gave his life for us in the person of Jesus; who became sin for us that
we might not know the consequence of sin and separation from God in eternal death, as we heard in Paul's
Second Letter to the Corinthians. This is about the God who laid the foundations of the world and set the
boundaries of the seas, as we heard in Job.
"You never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving
kindness."
I want to be sure that we remember this as we think about what lies ahead for us. You see, the
phrase not only talks about a specific God, it talks about a specific people. We are those whom God has
set upon the sure foundation of his loving kindness. Surely if God has set anyone upon the sure foundation
of his loving kindness it is the Church, the Body of Christ. And we are part of that Body, both here in
this congregation and in the Episcopal Church at large. God will never fail to help and govern this
church, both here and around the world. Although we may go through difficult times and trying times, as
did Job, God will make it right in the end. We simply have to be as faithful as we can be, as trusting as
we can be.
Now an announcement that has to do with our governance. The Diocese of Colorado met in a special
convention on Saturday and elected the Reverend Robert J. O'Neill as Bishop Coadjutor of Colorado. He will
become the Diocesan Bishop when Bishop Jerry Winterrowd retires in January of 2004.
Perhaps because of the knowledge of our upcoming election and perhaps just because of all the
media attention I've had questions lately about another bishop's election. The Rev. Gene Robinson was
recently elected as Bishop of New Hampshire. The two have little in common except that they serve as
priests in the Episcopal Church and have been recently elected to the office of bishop. Nevertheless, I
was reminded on Saturday about how worried people become over such elections when they are about someone
who is unknown or known only through the eyes of the press.
When I was leaving St. John's Cathedral I asked a colleague about the election. My colleague,
someone I doubt many of you would have a way to know, replied that the election left much to be desired.
The priest was very upset and declared, "I cannot be in communion with those people!" - meaning the 66% of
the clergy and 61% of the lay people who had just elected Fr. O'Neill. That's a lot of people not to be in
communion with in the Diocese of Colorado.
When I heard how upset this person was I was reminded of today's readings, particularly the
reading from Job. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?" asks God. "Where were you
when I reigned in the boundaries of the chaos of the seas?"
The God who created all of this in the beginning speaks to us through Job and reminds us, even in
the midst of what looks unmanageable, that God will be able to wrap up what he began. The God who made all
of us reminds us that we are his, not the other way round, and that he might be able to take care of that
which he has made and then redeemed by his own blood.
"You never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving
kindness."
I don't know what folks in our congregation know about Fr. O'Neill. Some may think that he is too
liberal, some may think that he is too conservative, most are probably scratching their heads and
wondering who he is. I can tell you that he is a faithful priest who served at St. John's Cathedral for
about 10 years and that is where he was when I met him and got to know him. He has since served at The
Parish of the Epiphany, Winchester, Massachusetts for about 12 years.
We will all get a chance to get to know him and he us over the next years. But I know we have some
things in common. I read a letter that Fr. O'Neill wrote to his parish a week or two ago about the
beginning of summer. In it he talked about the need to do something important as summer was approaching
and people would be headed for vacations and time away on the beach or the sailboat. He asked people to
remember to pray; reminding them that all relationships need communication and our relationship with God
is no different. He asked that they remember God wherever they were and whatever they were doing. We can
all heed that direction.
We have something else in common with Fr. O'Neill. Many of you know that we have supported the
orphanage El Hogar in Honduras. Some know that the couple who ran El Hogar are the parents of Hans Rhode,
our Junior Warden. Fr. Rob O'Neill is the President of the Board that assists in the running and funding
of El Hogar. So perhaps we have more in common than many of us have guessed.
Whether we are thrilled about the election or still scratching our heads or even as upset as Job
was and the disciples were, we have to remember our calling to be faithful, to pray and to do the ministry
Christ has set out for us. You remember how upset the disciples were? Their approach was not to come up to
Jesus, shake him gently and ask him to check on the weather. The scene was more like rushing up and
pouncing on him and yelling, "HEY, don't you care if we die?!"
God does care. He showed us that in creating us, in giving his life for us and in sharing with us
all that happens.
"You never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving
kindness."
God will not fail to help and govern us and will not fail to help and govern Fr. O'Neill as he
comes among us.
So what are we to do now?
I have some suggestions. We can all show up at the Habitat House that will be dedicated this
afternoon (Sunday June 22) on Sierra Madre. We helped to build that house with finances and labor and now
a family from this congregation will have a new home.
We can show up at the next Lord's Supper (September 7, I think) and help to feed those who are
hungry.
We can get to know Fr. Kesner Gracia when he is here this summer and learn about the new projects
and ministries going on in Petit-Trou de Nippes, Haiti. We can even plan to go to Haiti and be part of
that ministry.
We can volunteer to teach or help bake cookies and other snacks for Vacation Bible School. We can
volunteer to bring God's love in many ways and shapes and forms all throughout this community, as many of
you already do so well.
We can pray. And we can pray.
In short, we can continue doing the things God has called us to in ministry, we can continue
praying to God that we will become ever closer to his love and care for us and we can continue being the
Christians we are called to be, reconciling the world to God.
"You never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving
kindness." +
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