"Father of lights"-Sermon for First Service in New Church, James 1:17-27
So, I want to pick up where I left off last Sunday when I began my sermon by telling the story of the moment that I learned that our new address for this new church was 3823 Brushy Creek Road. As I noted last week, I discovered our address some 16 months ago at a Bishop’s Committee meeting, so long before completing this new church. And, further, that meeting…16 months ago…took place just a few weeks after my family moved into our new home…whose address is also 3823. And, I noted that the highly, highly unlikely coincidence that my new home’s numerical address and our new church’s numerical address…that did not exist before we purchased this property…being the same…left me flabbergasted. And, I believe all of us sitting in that meeting…staring at each other across the table in a sort of stunned silence by this revelation…felt like it was a God nudge, reminding us that God has been, is now and will always be with us, as we have built this new church, as we build future phases of this church on this property…and, really, in all things we do for good and for God in this blessed life we get to share with each other, including, our bright future whose story is still to be written. And, further, that God is not just with us in all things and at all times…but God is leading us.
And, this has not been the only experience reminding us of God walking with us and leading our way. I have also shared the story of the naming this church…St. Julian’s. Some 16 years ago, after accepting the Bishop’s invitation to plant this, at the time, unnamed new church from the ground up…but before actually my first day of working on it and before inviting others to join us on this journey…Ashley and I were at dinner in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, while I was on sabbatical studying Spanish. And, at that dinner, we were batting around ideas for what and for whom this new church, which was nothing more, at that point, than and hope and prayer, might be named. We knew we felt called to name the church after a woman, and so Ashely was sharing ideas…sort of a list of women mystics and saints who inspired her…one of whom was Julian. And, following that conversation, again, some 16 years ago, that very same night after going to bed, I had a vivid dream…one of those dreams that feels entirely real. And, the dream was of a church, by which I mean a gathering of people and not buildings. What I recall, is that it was a large gathering of people. There was lots of laughter and joy among the congregation. Kids were running everywhere. I remember that we were preparing for a wedding. I remember there were bells ringing. I remember a hill country setting, and am not exaggerating, that looked very much like the very piece of property where we gather together on this day. And, I remember clearly that the church, this gathering of people, was named St. Julian’s. That night God provided our name, which is and was much more than a name, for from Julian’s teachings we developed our Vision Statement, “Growing in Relationship, Loving all well, and Seeking intimacy with Christ.” Which has been our God-given sign-post and guide for everything we have planned and accomplished together.
And, I have shared the story of finding the church we worshipped in for the 12 years prior to today along Cat Hollow. How after looking for a transitional home for our church for two years, while we worshiped on Sunday evenings at Church of the Savior, I was feeling like we might never find something we could both afford and was close to Brushy Creek, which was the target area for our church. Perhaps you agree…at this point…mission accomplished on nailing the target area. We are across the street from Brushy Creek. But, I digress. Again, it was a Thursday some 12 years ago…my calendar was relatively clear…and I sort of spontaneously decided I was going to just pray and then drive around the area looking for properties for lease. We had a good real-estate agent…but for two years nothing that was brought to us was close to right. So, again, that Thursday morning, I prayed that God would lead the way…got into my car…googled commercial properties for lease…and started driving. After about all of 10 minutes or so, I drove up to 7700 Cat Hollow Drive to the very building that we would not lease but buy and would become our church for the past 12 years. A space that served us so very well…growing from 100 members to almost 400 members. And, the equity we have realized by buying that building is a huge part of building this building. A simple prayer and a little bit of driving was all God needed to provide for us the perfect transitional home between borrowing space and this permanent campus.
And, I have told the story of how these two lovely stained-glass windows found their way to us. After we constructed and moved into our previous church on Cat Hollow and lived in it a while, I noted that there were two white walls on either side of our old sanctuary that to me felt a bit empty and crying out for something interesting to fill them. I thought what might work would be two large pieces of complementary art or two pieces of matching stained-glass. I thought stained glass would be particularly nice, as they could connect our contemporary space to traditional church architecture…and more so…to the Communion of Saints in all the generations who proceeded us and who will follow after us. Well...that began a very causal search, as time and money were quite limited. I don’t recall sharing my search with my mother-in-law, Mary, but I guess I did, for one random Saturday she called to tell me she found a stained-glass window in an antique store in Gruene, TX called the Black Swan. She sent me a picture from her phone and it looked very promising, so I asked her to see if they had a second to make a pair and find out if they had any info on the window. She called back shortly to let me know that, indeed, they had a second window that was similar to the other out in a barn and it was from the same church. And here’s the really fun part, though not as old as Julian for whom we are named, they were from a church in Norwich, England, which is, of course, Julian’s hometown, where she lived, breathed, and wrote her spiritual masterpiece “Revelations of Divine Love”…from Norwich…to Gruene…to us! I jumped in my station wagon that very hour, drove to Gruene, purchased them, and brought them home. Shortly thereafter, they were hanging in the church on those two white walls…and they were absolutely perfect. The Lord had, indeed, provided. And, now they adorn this space…and with the sun shining through them…they have never looked lovelier.
I am going to stop here with my stories of God’s nudges…those reminders that Emmanuel, which means God with us, is not only walking alongside us on this glorious journey of planting St. Julian’s over these past 15 or so years…but God has been and is leading us. And, honestly, these stories that I love to tell…are small things…when compared to the stories of how God has walked alongside us and led us in personally transformative ways. That is, empowered by God’s love, the ways we have cared for each other in times of celebration and great challenge. Held each other’s tears and helped each other through unimaginable loss, crisis and transition. Joyfully celebrated with one another as we and those we love have overcome great difficulty or experienced important rites of passage. As we have grown more and more into the unique, gifted, kind and generous community and individuals that God created us, in the very image of love, to be. Served those beyond ourselves in need, even literally saving some lives along the way. In countless moments, small and large, God in Christ has and continues to nudge us, to be present to us, to walk with us, to lead us. It is a glory to behold. And, all of it…all of the blessed, God-led moments we have shared and will share are a God-given gift from above.
In our New Testament lesson this morning, which is a letter written by James, who is Jesus’ own brother, he writes, “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of [God’s] own purpose, he gave us [gave this family of faith St. Julian’s] birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” Friends, the gift of this new church and, more so, the gift of our relationships and this God-led, on-going journey we share is from above and has come down to us from the Father of lights. And, God’s unending generosity has shaped us into a sort of first fruits. Good fruit…that God is continuously growing from the good soil and deep roots we have planted together in St. Julian’s. Good fruit that is intended to feed a world hungry for hope, healing, peace, meaning, and direction…with all manner of good, life-giving things…in the continuing story that God is writing through our very lives…that has no end…and each chapter only gets better. And, this all just bursts my heart wide open with a gratitude that I cannot contain.
I am so grateful for our Bishop, Andy Doyle, and the Great Commission Foundation of the Diocese of Texas, which he leads, which provided the majority of the financial resources required to build this new church. I am so grateful for our professional teams, McKinneyYork and Braun and Butler, who designed and constructed this beautiful church. I am so grateful for Jack Ely, who has so selflessly and brilliantly led this entire effort, and the Construction Committee and for Patty Kenyon and the Bishop’s Committee who wisely and passionately oversaw with me this monumental building project. I am so grateful for Bea, Nancy and Mickey, the Bishop’s Wardens, who led our church in earlier stages of this building project and those retired BC members who served with them. I am so grateful for Jack and Patty Ely and Jayson and Stephy Lang and Robert and Jen Wooten who chaired the Good Soil and Deep Roots Capital Campaigns and all those who served on their Campaign Committees, which is providing the financial resources for our significant contribution to this project. I am so grateful to everyone who made a sacrificial gift to the Deep Roots campaign and the Good Soil campaign that proceeded it. I am so grateful for everyone who kept this project lifted up in prayer…for prayer, friends, is where it all begins and ends. I am so grateful for Jonathan, Kelly, Demery, Tony, Jennifer Cowles, Jennifer Garen, Debbie, Nick, Kim, Sarah, and Elle who have served on our staff during this project for keeping our meaningful ministries growing in the midst of work that consumed so much of my time. I am so grateful for our many, many Lay Ministry leaders who shared in all of that work alongside our staff. St. Julian’s is a lay led church and always will be…this church is yours. I am so grateful for Mason, Marty, Doug, Martha, Alex, Caroline, Hope, Matthew, Rachel, Michael, Collete and Ashley who were the original dozen folk who joined me in the basement of St. Matthew’s in the very beginning, some 15 years ago, to plant this new Episcopal Church in Far Northwest Austin. And, I am so grateful for my family…my parents, Ellen and JB, who are with us today, my two boogers, Mei Mei and Millie Bones, and, most especially, my perfect partner and best friend…Ashley…the special sauce in my life…who have all kept me lifted up, encouraged and sane in the midst of this precious and challenging time of creating this new home together. And, I know there are many, many more…too many to be named…who also contributed in little and large ways…but both significant…like all of you...that have helped bring about this day…and you have my most heartfelt thanks too. But most of all, I am grateful to the Father of lights, who is God in Christ, who called us into being and provided all the spiritual and temporal and human resources, from above, that we have needed to be and become the people we are today…for the church is always a people and not a place…a beloved community that has and continues to make a tremendous difference for good and for God in the lives of so many, many people. And, I am so grateful that we are only just at the beginning of this God-led journey together…with a light-filled undiscovered future ahead that the darkness cannot overcome…for the light that shines in and through us…is Christ’s own light…that was at the beginning, is now, and shall be forever.
And, I share these words of gratitude because it is a right and good thing to do on this day…and my thanks…our thanks…is so, so well-deserved. But, I also share these words of gratitude because I hope that all we will do and experience in this beautiful space from this day forward will continuously fill our hearts with gratitude. For I hope every prayer uttered…every bible study or Sunday school class that brings us new insight and revelation…every outreach project that is planned and performed to serve those in need…every artistic pursuit that creates something beautiful…every new friendship that is forged…every song that is sung…every sin that is confessed…every loss that is consoled…every tear that is held…all laughter that is shared…every sign of affection that is given and received…all of it…all of it…that flows from the unending generosity of the Father of lights…will continuously fill us with gratitude, which is the good soil and deep roots, from which God will birth and grow in us good fruit to feed a hungry world. Good fruit that is nothing less than the heart of Jesus birthed in the midst of the life we share…for the very life of the world. Amen.