Sunday Homily - November 18, 2018 - God's Sanctuary

The Ascension of Jesus Christ Icon

I.

Thank goodness for people who know how to build a good space for worship!

We here at Trinity Searcy, in my humble opinion, have a uniquely beautiful place to worship.
   This building has been standing for over 100 years,
      the stained glass shines the light of the Gospels on us,
        and the woodcraft that is around us right now is carefully constructed.

And if you notice the construction of the building,
   you will see that there are three distinct sections of it.

Most of y'all in the pews are sitting in what is called the Nave,
   which comes from the same root as the words "navy" or "naval"
      and it refers to a boat.
         In the early church, a common metaphor for the Church was Noah's Ark,
         [Augustine of Hippo, Contra Faustum, book XII; and etc.]
            and if you look at the ceiling trusses,
              you may find that it looks a little like the structure of a boat.
                That same symbol of the Ark is still speaking those silent words
                   through our architecture, carefully designed.

The second section is commonly called the Chancel.
   This section in our church starts at these steps near the Baptismal Font
      and ends at the altar rails.
        This section is where you will find the choir, the altar ministers, and the seating for clergy.

And then, there is the Sanctuary.
   That is the section contained by the altar rails
      which points to the source and summit of our Christian life of worship:
         the receiving of the Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament.
         [Catechism of the Catholic Church; 2.2.1, Article 3]

And the symbolism accompanying most of the things in the Sanctuary are quite rich.
   The beautiful altar, with the Greek letters alpha and omega on the left and right.
      In the center is the IHS, or the condensed Holy Name of Jesus Christ in Greek or Latin letters.
         The green altar frontal bears the Holy Name as well in the center.
            The Tabernacle, the green box that is sitting on our newly refurbished reredos,
               houses the Blessed Sacrament that is used for the sick who can't be here on Sundays.

And as we take it all in and thank God for all the beauty we are surrounded by,
   we are rightly at peace in a place of beauty and prayer.

We look and marvel at all the work that has gone into its construction,
   its care,
     its maintenance.

But. But, we also need to be very very careful that we recognize the true purpose of this place:
   because the beauty and peace, the construction and upkeep
      is not an end in itself.

II.

Because, if you heard in today's Gospel,
   Jesus and the disciples got to worship in one of the great wonders of the ancient world:
      The temple in Jerusalem.

Hundreds of thousands of hours of work were done to complete this massive structure.
   And anyone who has been to the Holy Land and has seen the Western Wall,
     The wall of the Temple of the Lord that Herod was reconstructing very near the time of Jesus,
        one cannot help but be incredulous at the size of such a structure.

And the disciples are enamored and in awe.
   They turn to Jesus and express their amazement:
      "Look how big these stones are in the walls! Look at these magnificent buildings."

And then Jesus has to go and ruin the party, right?
   And it only took Jesus two sentences:
      "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another,
          and all will be thrown down."
          [Mark 13:1-2 NRSV]

And, as history tells us, the destruction of this second Temple actually happened in A.D. 70,
   only about 30-40 years after Jesus said this,
     destroyed by the Roman legions that crushed a Jewish rebellion against the empire
       [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/913023/jewish/The-Second-Temple.htm]

Wars, rumors of wars, violent uprisings:
   we have all seen them, heard them, witnessed them.
      Whether it be the destruction of that holy worship space where the disciples prayed to God,
         or whether it be the Blitz of London, German bombs tearing through churches and cathedrals,
            holy places befall the worst of human sinfulness.

And if that were the only story to tell,
   if the Temple was the only place where God was,
      if the holy Tabernacle was the only place where Jesus could be found,
         if a building was a requirement for God's interaction with humanity,
            then our access to the Divine Trinity would have been closed off long ago.

III.

But Jesus, Emmanuel, "God with us,"
   knew something that we lose sight of sometimes.
     The Church is NOT A BUILDING.
        YOU are the Church!

The Church is not brick and mortar.
   The Church is the Body of Christ,
      the assembly of the followers of Jesus,
        and where two or three are gathered together in worship, God is in our midst
          whether that be at Trinity Church or at Starbucks!

Trinity Parish Church is not this building,
   this magnificently constructed worship space, beautiful as it may be.
     YOU, friends, are Trinity Parish Church,
        wonderfully called as fellow laborers in God's vinyard,
           bringing those who do not know Jesus to the knowledge and love of him.

And because the Church is US,
   and because Jesus has promised to be with us,
      even to the end of the age, with its wars and rumors of wars to come,
         we thus are agents of salvation even as we walk from this place today.

Because WE are the Church of God in Jesus Christ,
   WE are sent out in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the salvation of God
      breaking into the world TODAY.

Not when we get a big enough congregation,
   not when we can balance the budget perfectly,
      not when we live perfect lives.
         We are the church NOW, proclaiming in word and deed the Gospel of Christ
             RIGHT NOW.

And that's exciting, friends, that God is so much more glorious and loving than we can imagine,
   and yet we are still lovingly granted the very Real Presence of God
      who forsook all the glory of heaven to dwell with us here on earth in our finite buildings,
         and who even slept in a lowly manger that dark night in Bethlehem many years ago.

Jesus's sharp words about the Temple are not primarily about being a downer to the disciples.
   Rather, it was a corrective on their perspective of God.
      God doesn't pay very much attention to the kind of building you inhabit.
         God instead cares about your heart, your soul, your mind, and your neighbor!

As we worship in the beauty of holiness,
   recognize with me this morning that the beauty we experience
     is pointing us toward the One who is Beauty Itself.
       Our longing for the sweetness we experience in our liturgy
          is the sign of the longing of our souls for the only One who can satisfy our hearts.

Let me tell you what, Church.
   If those things aren't solid reasons to invite visitors on Sunday, I don't know what is.
      The Sacraments are effective means of grace that objectively point your hearts to God,
         our architecture points to God,
           and that means, brothers and sisters, that our very lives must also be used as a compass,
             pointing true north to our loving God who desires the salvation of all people.

Worship in that love,
   that love that is hinted at in the stained glass,
     that love that is silently speaking through the craftsmanship of this holy place,
       that love that speaks through the mysterious Holy Name on the altar,
         that love that you take into yourself in the Holy Communion.

And then let that love set you on fire for those who desperately call out for that same love in you.

In the name of the + Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.