Doors are Opening

Last Sunday was Gay Pride Day and for the first time in years, I marched in the parade with Oasis.  With Timm Dobbins and Kathy Viet out of town, we weren’t very organized. 

I think I was the only person from St. John’s who showed up. The Diocese of CA was contingent number 170 – the Christians are always at the end of the parade. Bp. Marc and Sheila were there and before I could say hello, Marc asked if I’d be at church today.  Well yes, I’m supposed to be preaching.  Good, he said, I want you to do something very important.  I will be out of town and I want you to represent me and read a proclamation I’ve written to the parish. 

What a relief – that important task would be a breeze compared to writing today’s sermon.  What could I possible say that’s true to the lectionary, ties in Independence Day, acknowledges all that Father John has done for us over the past 6 years and reassures the congregation that all will be well at this time of transition?

Sheila Andrus must have sensed my uneasiness, for she said, Don’t worry Jackie, you will find the right words to share with the parish at this exciting time when doors are opening.

Hearing Sheila’s well-meaning words -- Doors are opening – while looking at the sculpted bodies in shiny thongs gyrating to the pounding club music on the Gold’s Gym float thrust me back 25 years when our gay brothers were desperate and dying.


In 1984, long before there were protease inhibitors and even before AZT (the first approved treatment of HIV) a book called You Can Heal Your Life was published. It immediately landed on the NYT best sellers list, selling more than 35 million copies. I can still see the cover - a simple heart with paint strokes in the colors of the rainbow on a glossy white background. The author, Louise Hay, was a wildly popular self-help guru in the 80’s. She struck it rich with her New Age publishing empire Hay House – an enterprise that was built on the backs of the men who were dying.

The gay men were desperate – with no medical treatment in sight, friends and lovers dropping like flies, they tried to heal their bodies and souls using affirmations and positive thoughts. Even faithful Christians, smart Episcopalians, were listening to Hay’s carefree mantras set to motivating music -- Doors are opening, opening, opening. Doors are opening, opening, opening.

Many of you have heard me talk about my dear friend Brent Hawk – he was a dedicated member of this church, the Sr. Warden for a time. Brent was also a talented host. For years he headed up the hospitality team at St. John’s. With a slow southern manner, Brent was warm and welcoming to family member and stranger alike.

Shortly after Brent was diagnosed with HIV he bought You Can Heal Your Life and a cassette tape of affirmations and meditations that went along with it. This surprised me because we had previously enjoyed making fun of Hay’s meditations that repeated phrases like doors are opening over and over again. And we howled over her exhaustive list of ailments and their causes - like cataracts being caused by the inability to see ahead with joy, or the underlying cause of coughing as a desire to bark at the world.

Hay’s method of repeating simple phrases “doors are opening” over and over again seems somewhat nonsensical. There is no effort to consider significant variables such as – What is the door? What direction are we moving through the door? Who is coming in and out, and who is hosting whom. For example, Jesus must find households willing to open their doors, so he sends 70 disciples out ahead of him. Carrying no money or provisions, the hospitality of strangers was a matter of survival to for the disciples. When a door opened, they were to say, ‘Peace to this house!’ If the peace was received, the messengers stayed and ate what was put before them. After their basic needs were met, the disciples healed the sick, and proclaimed, ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you.’

One of the reasons this gospel story is hard to relate to is that we Christians are generally more comfortable being the providers of hospitality, not the receivers. It’s our job to open the doors to the stranger and care for the needy. We take pride in the generous spread we offer at coffee hour. But in the gospel today Jesus is sending his vulnerable disciples out like lambs in the midst of wolves. In order to proclaim the good news that ‘the kingdom of God is at hand,’ the evangelists are dependent on their hosts every bit as much as their hosts need the healing and the message they have to offer.

Recall in last week’s gospel that Jesus had his face set toward Jerusalem.  In other words, Jesus knows he is a dead man walking. It is with this knowledge, he sends out the seventy to every town and place where he intends to go. It’s important to understand that the mission of the 70 was not simply to prepare the way in the manner of John the Baptist.  Rather, on this journey to Jerusalem Jesus transfers his ministry to his followers, with all the power, authority and vulnerability that go along with it. While still very much alive, Jesus sent the 70 out to heal the sick, exorcise demons, eat with the outcasts and proclaim the good news.  This is the same job God gave to Jesus.  And now Jesus, realizing he won’t be able to complete the task before his death, turns around and hands his ministry to his disciples -- trusting in them to finish the job.

Well, those 70 that Jesus sent out to heal, teach and preach didn’t finish the job.  However, we can rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus’ call stretches beyond any fixed point in time. As living members of the Body of Christ, the charge to heal, teach and proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand is our charge today.  I’d like to point out that Jesus doesn’t instruct the disciples to coax, coerce or astound with miracles.  On the contrary—in order for the disciples to give, they must first receive.  Jesus model of evangelism doesn’t include guilt tripping or arm-twisting.   It doesn’t matter if the door is opened or not, the message is the same -- the kingdom of God is at hand!

At first glance, Jesus’ imperative to carry no purse, no bag, and no sandals seems close to impossible. But when you think about it, as the Body of Christ that is this congregation of St. John’s, we’re already living it out together, especially the part about no purse.  Following Jesus’ command means living out the gospel message of peace, not only inside the church, but also outside the church doors - person by person, house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood and every step along the journey.  It means welcoming everyone who walks through our doors and at the same time being open to receive the gifts the guests may offer.

Under Father John’s leadership we have opened our doors to our sisters and brothers of El Buen Samaritano and we have moved outside our doors and taken our worship into the street.  We became host of the Julian Pantry where strangers have become dear friends. In collaboration with El Buen Samaritano, Holy Innocents’, and St. Aidan’s we created a glorious Easter Vigil – Lord knows it wasn’t easy, we all had to work on our control issues and trust others would do their part.  But the gift we received was a Vigil that was so much greater than anything we could have done alone.

One more thing  - you know that part in the gospel where Jesus tells us not to rejoice in the power to tread on snakes and scorpions?  Jesus is reminding us that it is through our vulnerability, not our strength, that we will realize the realm of heaven on earth. Well, the kingdom of God must surely be at hand!  John, this is your last Sunday with us and we are vulnerable. Together we are vulnerable, anxious, heartbroken, distressed, and probably a few other things that I shouldn’t mention in the pulpit.

I pray I speak for the entire congregation when I say --

John, you have served us well. 

You came through our doors when we needed an anchor. You have been our anchor. 

You came through our doors when we needed to be loved.  You loved us. 

You came through our doors when we were hungry to learn.  You taught us. 

And in your vulnerability you learned with us, and you grew with us.

Your prayerful presence has comforted and sustained us.

With patience and wisdom, you have equipped us to continue our journey without you. 

You have brought us to the threshold of a new realm and out of your love for us you are letting us go. We will walk with you through our doors and bless you on the wondrous journey God has in store for you and your family.  We don’t know who will be coming in after you, but we have from you the wisdom that in the fullness of time, the door to God’s plan will be opened.

We will miss you -- your long sermons, your liturgical leadership, your careful work with those who question and doubt.  But we are secure in our trust that you are now part of the unending life of this parish – a people of God growing toward the promise of the kingdom of heaven. You will forever be among the communion of saints who have created our history and restored breath to our heritage.

Proclamation to the Parish of St. John the Evangelist

Whereas, The Rev. John Kirkley has faithfully served as Rector of the church of St. John the Evangelist for the past six years; and

Whereas, Father John has been a leader within the community, the diocese and the greater Church for the full inclusion of all God’s children in each and every sacrament of the Church; and

Whereas, Father John has acted collaboratively, reaching across cultural boundaries to enter into a new ministry partnership with our sisters and brothers of El Buen Samaritano; and

Whereas, Father John has taken the reconciling Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District; and

Whereas, Father John has sought a deeper understanding of the Buddhist faith and nurtured a desire to interpret the Christian faith to those who do not know the generous Christianity that Episcopalians profess; therefore be it

Resolved, That the members of St. John the Evangelist and of the Diocese of California today give thanks for Father John’s ministry and honor him for his dedication and service; and be it further

Resolved, That we all hold Father John and his family in our prayers as they move towards new opportunities to serve and to lead towards more love, and we ask God’s guidance for their lives and vocations.

The Rt. Reverend Marc Handley Andrus

Eighth Bishop of California

I have no idea what to say after such a proclamation. So I turn to Isaiah who can find the words for any occasion.  To you John and your family and to you the members of this parish I pray you take these words from the prophet Isaiah to heart:

Thus says the Lord:

I will extend prosperity to Jerusalem like a river,

and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees.

As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

your bodies shall flourish like the grass;

and it shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants.

Amen.

Proper 9, Year C - Luke 10:1-11, 16-20