The Presiding Bishop's Sermon from this Morning

In the last days, I’ve seen evidence of the kingdom of heaven among bishops who agree and disagree about the hot-button issues, bishops who speak different languages, and among bishops who come from vastly different contexts. One bishop in Madagascar has told of a diocese that is devastated every year by cyclones, sometimes several times ”“ yet he continues his work to rebuild. He holds a vision of a cathedral and churches that will be shelters from the storm, both literally and figuratively, and used for schools during the week. He says, “I will build more churches and fill them with the poor.”

Another bishop in Sudan tells us about his people who are returning refugees, who have nothing, no ability to grow crops or feed themselves, and are struggling to reestablish their lives. He also tells us of the presence of Al Qaeda, and large guns being carried south by nomads, and he tells us of his fears that warfare will soon break out in even larger ways. Yet that bishop, and his brother bishops, continue to speak good news to their people, to tell their stories to others, and to seek our prayers and support, particularly from the more powerful nations of the world who may yet convince Sudan to care for all its people.

The kingdom of heaven is like 650 bishops marching through the streets of this city a couple of days ago, insisting that together we can end global poverty, if we have the will to do it. Your prime minister shares that hope, and has pledged his assistance in very concrete ways, as he told us in a powerful speech on Thursday. That hope is like a mustard seed that can grow into a tree of life large and generous enough to shelter all the people of this world, but it’s going to take lots of us to water and fertilize it.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, Episcopal Church (TEC), Parish Ministry, Preaching / Homiletics, Presiding Bishop

45 comments on “The Presiding Bishop's Sermon from this Morning

  1. robroy says:

    Perfectly wretched sermon – as usual. One has to wonder if she even passed homiletics.
    For this parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Ms Schori writes
    [blockquote]
    The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that leavens everything around it. That would have been intensely shocking to Jesus’ hearers, for it compares God’s presence to something unclean that contaminates everything it touches. How would Jesus say it here? Maybe that the kingdom of heaven is like the odor of unwashed bodies, finding shelter at last in a well-heated room.[/blockquote]
    Breathtakingly clueless. I don’t think that someone could parody this more than it already is. I am so thankful that the revisionistas chose her as their leader.

  2. Kevin Montgomery says:

    First of all, were you there to actually hear it?
    Secondly, are you criticizing the homily or the homilist? Did you dislike the homily before or after you read it? (I’m guessing the latter on both.)

  3. Christopher Johnson says:

    Since he quoted from it, he obviously read it and realized how dreadful it was. Take the sanctimony someplace else.

  4. Antonio says:

    “The kingdom of heaven is like 650 bishops marching through the streets of this city a couple of days ago, insisting that together we can end global poverty, if we have the will to do it”.

    I’m sorry, but NOT TRUE.
    The Kingdom of Heaven is not something we “can do” if “we have the will to do it”. Just that simple.

  5. driver8 says:

    I think it’s worth saying that her exegesis is based on rather outre scholarship (Borg and his ilk). I’ve seen this connection made repeatedly by Progressives without acknowledging that, even if one grants the historicist hermeneutic (which I don’t), their conjectural history is marginal even within the scholarly guild. Within its context of Matthew 13 the parable, like those that surround it, focuses on the hidden power of the kingdom. What is so surprising is not that Jesus broke the purity rules (given by God to the Jews so Scripture tells us), for Matthew has already shown at least one way in which Jesus publically kept purity legislation, but that the kingdom could be so powerful as to transform everything when its beginnings were so small.

  6. Pb says:

    The kingdom is where the King rules. “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” It is about His will and not whether we have enough will on our own.

  7. mugsie says:

    None of this surprises me at all. Everything TEC preaches is about “me”, so this is no surprise at all. They think “people” are the gods. That “people” can make changes to the world if they “will” them, but totally disregard the fact that only GOD can bring relief to poverty, etc. They miss the truth that we as “people” are to to bend to “God’s” will, NOT our own.

  8. robroy says:

    [i]First of all, were you there to actually hear it?[/i] Um, no. There’s no + sign in front of robroy.
    [i]Secondly, are you criticizing the homily or the homilist?[/i] That should be obvious. Both. Ghastly homily. Ghastly homilist.
    [i]Did you dislike the homily before or after you read it? (I’m guessing the latter on both.) [/i] Is this some trick question? Am I existentially bound to dislike her sermons? I will have to consult Kierkegaard and get back with you on that one.

    I have read one sermon of hers that did not seem like Unitarian cr@p. It was after her disaster of her Easter passage. I suspect it was ghost written because of the minor uproar about all the talk of cow flatulence with one slight passing remark about the resurrection.

  9. Kevin Montgomery says:

    “Existentially bound to dislike her sermons”
    Her sermons? Or just her?

  10. dwstroudmd+ says:

    There are those who hold that one must hear a sermon to understand it. That’s bosh, of course. The words have a meaning and order and intent on the part of their author. The argument is usually made that somehow the words without the person saying them are not meaningful or efficacious. But try that approach on the pet passages of such claimants and you will discover that the application is, shall we way, spotty. Same here.

    The leaven symbol by the way works both ways but requires the prior understanding of the real world mechanism of action. The small amount of leaven -like sin- works to affect the whole loaf. The small size of the understanding apprehending the Kingdom -like leaven and the loaf or sin and life- works to affect the whole of life : individually and corporately.

  11. mugsie says:

    #2, I don’t know about robroy, but I’ll tell you that it’s not that I don’t like her. I don’t even know her personally, so I can’t “like” or “dislike” her. BUT, I don’t TRUST her. My reason for stating that is that she teaches false doctrine. She publicly professes what she believes and it’s contrary to what the Bible says. She states things like, “There are many paths to salvation”, “Jesus is the vehicle to the divine”, and more. The first of the two statements I quoted is just plain FALSE, according to Scripture. The second statement is just plain incoherent. How the heck is Jesus the “vehicle to the divine” when he, himself is “divine”. He is the WAY to salvation; the ONLY WAY to salvation. He’s not a “vehicle” to anywhere. Her words are often like this; very incoherent and make absolutely no sense at all. THAT’s why I don’t trust her. God is not author of confusion. KJS is definitely the author of confusion, so what she teaches is not of GOD, plain and simple.

  12. Harry Edmon says:

    Law, Law, Law, Law. No Gospel.

  13. robroy says:

    Her sermons are cookbook. Mention some experience that usually has very little bearing on anything but she tries to incorporate usually very unsuccessfully. Mention one of the readings then proceed to miss the boat entirely with her prattling.

    And this is now becoming part of her recipe:
    [blockquote]I bring you greetings from Episcopalians in the United States and Taiwan, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, — both the British and US – and a grouping of churches in Europe.[/blockquote]
    How crass. How lacking in subtlety.

    David Virtue recently stated that she had been heard to say that ‘TEC’ could also stand for “The Episcopal Communion.” This Episcopal Communion reminds me of the banana republics that we and the Soviet Union tried to prop up during the cold war. When the TEC goes bankrupt from the lawsuits, these international members will be the first to have their monies cut off and the will wither away.

  14. Jeffersonian says:

    Eh…just insipid.

  15. Sarah1 says:

    RE: “Her sermons? Or just her?”

    Hey RobRoy — Kevin Montgomery would like for you to agree with our Presiding Bishop’s theology and gospel, as well as like her sermons.

    If you could go ahead and take care of that, I’m sure that he would be pleased and not be so stressed when you point out that you don’t and you don’t.

  16. Larry Morse says:

    Her remark about the kingdom of heaven being the bishops marching etc. This is, I am sure, to be taken literally, and I have heard the same from her before, that is, that heaven is THIS world, and that by good works, we can make it the heaven that we dream about.This is why she so thoroughly trusts science, for it is through this effort that the “heaven” can be created. I am therefore also sure that what others suspect is true, that she has no belief in a heaven after death. It is all THIS world, and all our efforts are to be placed here. For this reason, i conclude conditionally, that she has little use for or belief in Jesus and the resurrection. LM

  17. Dacama says:

    I haven’t read it…it would be a waste of my time…you know SS DS

  18. rlw6 says:

    16 I believe you have idendified the true difference this uneducated and poor sinner has with the new thing, I wish to follow the Christ who said his Kingdom was not of this world and she wishs to create her Kingdom in this world. I pray that I may enter into His Kingdom and know that I cannot be in hers.
    Pray for me a sinner,
    paul

  19. Sick & Tired of Nuance says:

    “The kingdom of heaven is like 650 bishops marching through the streets of this city a couple of days ago, insisting that together we can end global poverty, if we have the will to do it.” ~Whatshername

    ******************

    “But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

    ‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.'” ~John 12:4-8

    **********************
    Oh, decisions, decisions…who to believe? Can we end global poverty or will the poor always be among us?

    I guess some things never change. There seems to always be folks who will pretend to take the part of the poor but who are actually dipping into the treasury themselves.

  20. mugsie says:

    #18, Christ will be coming with the saints to establish his Kingdom on earth when he comes. It’s not here now, and “we” will never be able to establish it, like KJS seems to think.

    1 Thessalonians 3:13 (NKJV)
    13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

  21. mugsie says:

    #19, very good point. Thanks for bringing out the Scriptures about the cost of the perfume. Judas Iscariot’s character (or lack thereof) was well demonstrated here. Jesus made that point there so very well. I wonder what KJS would say to that Scripture. But then, she has no use for Scripture anyway. She and her followers don’t believe in the authority of Scripture or that it’s God-breathed.

  22. Choir Stall says:

    The strainer that all of the Presiding Oven Mitt’s sermons run through is always predictable: marginalization howled at, entitlement brought down, and the era of peace bought in if everyone just gets a say. Jesus the Social Worker. How about another take: the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that works silently in a yet-to-be formed society to bring the bread of life to a sin-sick world.
    Nope. Doesn’t go through the strainer.

  23. driver8 says:

    Look she wasn’t elected because she is a great theologian or an inspiring preacher. She was elected to pursue a single agenda and she has done so ruthlessly.

  24. Bernini says:

    driver8: well said.

  25. In Newark says:

    robroy and dwstroudmd–as I just noted on SF, leaven is notunclean. It is forbidden only on the eight days of Passover. Challah, the bread of the Sabbath, is a yeast bread. Then, there are all kinds of wonderful Jewish sweet breads made with yeast. Leaven is “chometz” (not for Passover) which is very different from “trafe” (unclean).

  26. RMBruton says:

    You call that a sermon?

  27. archangelica says:

    Absolutely dreadful. Again.

  28. driver8 says:

    The troubling thing for me, and I have heard her preach in person, is that she is a mediocre preacher – stilted stories, unfunny jokes and much, much worse disastrously poor exegesis (of the generally demythologising, existentializing kind) – yet the folks I was with LOVED it. In many TEC parishes christian formation (catechesis) has been so dire for so long that folks don’t have the skills to tell truth and falsity apart. (Judges 21: 25 “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”)

  29. D. C. Toedt says:

    To paraphrase brother robroy [#1]: Perfectly robotic comments, and breathtakingly lacking in charity – as usual when the subject is +KJS. The only surprise is how unsurprised I am.

  30. Dacama says:

    Liberal’s actions always speak louder than their words. Remind me how much they have spent on legal fees? Oh right, it is other people’s money that needs to be spent for the poor, we need ours to sue our fellow Christians.

  31. driver8 says:

    #29 I think one issue that is worth considering is that the PB’s relentless theological speculation (the poor conjectural exegesis in this sermon being a very minor example) is itself deeply and seriously uncharitable.

  32. Kevin Maney+ says:

    D.C. wrote: [blockquote]To paraphrase brother robroy [#1]: Perfectly robotic comments, and breathtakingly lacking in charity – as usual when the subject is +KJS. The only surprise is how unsurprised I am.[/blockquote]

    Unfortunately, D.C., the same can be said for you. But then again, we would expect that from folks who share wholly different gospels, no?

  33. MargaretG says:

    Does anyone know if she skipped the expensive meal at the end of the march, and gave the money to the MDGs?

    I doubt it — but given the sermon I thought it was worth giving her the benefit of the doubt and asking rather than assuming.

  34. Betty See says:

    John 18:36

    Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

    Matthew 6:19-21

    Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

  35. GSP98 says:

    “…but it’s going to take lots of us to water and fertilize it.”
    No. No, I can’t. I JUST can’t…
    Forgive the thought, Lord.

  36. Katherine says:

    First reaction: Unlike many other women, Jefferts Schori appears never to have made bread. So much for solidarity. 🙂

  37. Alice Linsley says:

    Yes, #6, the kingdom is where the King rules. This essay speaks about how people in Abraham’s time would understand this.

    http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2008/05/yes-georgia-there-is-kingdom.html

  38. Cousin Vinnie says:

    It seems to me that the 650 bishops did a bang-up job of praying loudly on the street corners so they could be seen by men. It is not so clear what their little stroll did to solve the problem they lament. But their gilded lunch made it all worthwhile.

  39. robroy says:

    Larry Morse (#16) wrote:
    [blockquote]For this reason, i conclude conditionally, that she has little use for or belief in Jesus and the resurrection.[/blockquote]
    Agreed. It is hard not to take this away from her “sermons.” Betty See’s adds important verses that Ms Schori doesn’t seem to understand.

    Thanks to In Newark for the explanation of the that yeast is not unclean. (For slight more detailed explanation see his original comment at SF [url=http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/14820/#257694 ]here[/url]. I have always wanted to more about Judaism. It is scandalous that we Christians don’t.)

    This was from a comment from SF:
    [blockquote]I recently read a book by Pope Benedict XVI about Jesus. My first observation was that there is such a difference in theological depth between him and our PB whose only theological credential has to have been that she slept in a Holiday Inn Express somewhere along her travels. [/blockquote]
    Indeed the contrast with true Christian leaders is quite striking.

    Cousin Vinnie: Make that 649. Bp Iker stated that he didn’t see the point and thought it was for external show, so he skipped it and spent time with family.

    P.S. For #9 and #15: I don’t and I don’t.

  40. Katherine says:

    The more I think about this bread analogy the more upsetting it becomes. As In Newark points out, leavened bread was eaten 51 weeks a year. Probably the bread commonly served was much like the “eish baladi” (common bread) I buy here in Egypt — a flat pita bread baked fresh every day. Generations of women have kneaded the leavening into the dough to give bread to their families every day. Few things in life are more satisfying than mixing the yeast into the flour and water, sugar and salt, kneading, and waiting for it to grow into what becomes sweet-smelling and life-giving bread. The word in Arabic, “eish,” is related to the word for “life,” and it’s quite possible something like it was used in the Aramaic of Jesus’ day. “I am the bread of life,” He says.

  41. Katherine says:

    Hopper, perhaps I misunderstand you. We all know that the reference to the leaven in the dough is scriptural.

  42. Peter dH says:

    #29 don’t think anyone has been more uncharitable than Paul was when confronted with false teaching in Galatia &c;, or indeed Jesus himself when he needed to make a point about what people were doing in his Father’s house. And don’t even get me started about the church fathers! We are all saints by comparison.

    I’m not saying that we are as charitable as we ought to be at times, or that the way the fight plays out in the media is always helpful. But you simply cannot glibly write reasserter criticism off as sub-Christian for being quite harsh and unequivocal, as you seem to do.

  43. libraryjim says:

    One thing (among many) I’ve learned from working in a library:

    It’s usually those who break the rules or who are rude themselves that accuse the staff who try to enforce the rules of being rude.

    In street ministry I’ve found:
    Those who do not follow the Bible themselves are the ones who accuse the faithful of not following the Bible, and usually pick out obscure verses they’ve heard somewhere, taken out of context, to hurl insults at the faithful.

    My conclusion: it’s guilt.

    and leads to the attempt to ‘pass the buck’ — “If I can show that you are as big a sinner as I am, then I’m off the hook, and feel better for it”.

    Thus, faithful follower of Jesus, do not get discouraged when reappraisers accuse YOU of un-Christ-like conduct because you take a stand for the Lord. Satan did the same to Jesus in the temptations, even using His friend, Peter, to try to sway Jesus from His mission.

    Peace
    Jim Elliott <><

  44. Betty See says:

    Hopper, post 42,
    You will notice that Jesus’ parable did not infer in any way to the leaven (yeast) as “unclean”, in fact this was a parable directed to people who saw bread made every day and realized the importance of the leaven in making bread.
    Most people who post on this site are familiar with this parable and believe that Bishop Schori is disrespectful and misleading when she contends that this parable: “would have been intensely shocking to Jesus’ hearers, for it compares God’s presence to something unclean that contaminates everything it touches.”

  45. D. C. Toedt says:

    Betty See [#46], I agree +KJS goofed in asserting that leaven (yeast) was regarded as unclean as a general proposition. In her defense, however, she might well have been thinking of the specific context of Passover preparation, during which all leaven must be sought out and ruthlessly eliminated and thus could be analogized to being unclean. Still, it’d have been better had she not used that example.