Holy People, Holy Time, Holy Fruit

5.Thus, after the service, the Altar Guild takes that water and pours it directly on the ground outside, so that as it has served us and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it can then serve the rest of his creation.

6.After being cleansed, the font has fresh water placed in it again.

7.There are no prayers said with this new water.

There is no magic going on here.

It is simply fresh water that we see week after week.

That is a description of what happens; now to the why, so what, and what does it mean?

What does it mean to be “holy?”

In catechetical class we define holy as being set apart for God's special purposes.

So in the Easter Vigil, this large candle is set aside to be a continuing reminder of God's promises made and remembered that night, a reminder of the presence of the risen Lord Jesus who will continue to be with us.

In Holy Communion, that particular bread and wine which is carried in the Offertory Procession is thereby being set aside to be used with the promise of Jesus “This is my Body,”

to be food for his people,

to be the new covenant with his people,

to be his presence with his people.

When it is shared here and when it is carried to the sick or home-bound, it is in that use that it is holy.

It is equally clear that when water is being used in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, it is indeed holy.

The joining of God's word of promise with the earthly element makes it holy.

It follows logically that what has been put to holy use should be treated respectfully:

wafer-bread kept until it is used up,

wine kept until it is fully used,

pita bread consumed, or fed to God's creatures the birds, or returned directly to the soil,

water poured on the ground so that it might nourish other things.

So why have water in the font on the majority of the Sundays when we do not have Holy Baptism?

Quite simply, it is there as another reminder of the grace-filled promise of Baptism.

Some of our younger members have grown up reaching for the water in the font and making the sign of the cross as a parent has said, “Remember that you have been baptized.”

We need regular reminders.

It is so easy to become disappointed, despondent, or sad,

feeling that God is far away or silent,

feeling that God does not care,

feeling that our connections with God and with each other are weak.

Seeing, and perhaps even touching that water just may be a way for us to be reminded that

God is close at hand, where he promises to be;

that the Lord Jesus Christ does indeed care about each one of us, personally and corporately,

that our connection with each other does not depend upon our being bosom buddies with everyone in church, but rather on the one Lord Jesus Christ.

He is calling us, grafting us onto the one vine which is himself, and directing that we bear fruit, together, as we saw in the Gospel and Lou's sermon last week.

Friendships and other personal relationships may be built as we get going and get doing as Jesus asks.

As we have come to understand, faith grows in the doing, in the following, in the remaining in the vine.

To be holy is to be set apart for special use by God.

We can easily spend way too much time discussing the holiness of water when God is much more concerned about the holiness of people, that you and I are set apart for God's special use.

Listen to this important verse from the baptismal sermon we know as 1 Peter:

''...like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood...

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people

in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.

And today's Gospel reading adds:

“You did not choose me;” says Jesus, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

Set apart for God's special use...we are God's holy people.

But being holy people does not mean being removed from the difficulties and challenges of human life.

Rather, we are even more conscious that things as they are now are not right,

that as we read the paper or watch TV we see there is much that is out of step with the will of the Father,

that there is much that we are called to say that will be difficult for us to speak and for others to hear,

that there is much to be done that others will not appreciate,

that we cannot hide forever in the crowd, since we are God's called-out, his holy people,

who simply must bear fruit as an inevitable part of being who we are.

And it will be work, and it calls for our diligent effort.

But, says 1 John in our 2^nd lesson today, the commandments of God are not burdensome.

It is work, but it should not weigh us down.

The Christian writer C.S. Lewis lost his wife named Joy to caner after only a short marriage.

What a hard thing this was.

And yet he was able to write an autobiographical book about the experience entitled Surprised by Joy.

It was hard, but not a burden.

That's the way that C.S. Lewis understood his life as a Christian.

We're not demoralized, but get up and go at it again.

I watched my grandson Eliot learning this last week.

We were at a playground that was designed for kids a bit older than he.

The taller kids were able to get their foot high enough to get onto the rope ladder to climb up to the high point and slide.

He tried and could not; he is only age 3.

I did not help him, but suggested that he should wait a year and try then.

Of course that made him even more determined, until he figured out a way to get his leg up over that first rope and wriggle himself onto the ladder...and then he was off, triumphantly climbing to the top, crowing, and sliding down the big tube...and repeating the process until he was wet with sweat.

And so it is with all our activities as the church.

--For our four authorized lay worship leader candidates as they learn to read, think, pray, write, and deliver a sermon.

--For those who assist in so many ways with Vacation Bible School, a they wrestle with how best to say Good News to little ones in winsome and thoughtful ways.

--For those who work so diligently with quilts and kits and other hands-on projects that will aid people from Nepal or Georgia or dozens of other places, persons whom we will likely not meet this side of heaven.

--For those who are studying and talking in preparation for service as Stephen Ministers, who are working hard at the art of listening and thoughtfully caring conversation.

--For those who serve in Family Promise, discerning how to be helpful and yet not take over someone's problems for them.

--For each of us when we invite someone to join us in worship or other activities.

In all these areas there will be problems, setbacks, false starts, and imperfections, but we get up and try again.

It is hard work, but not a burden...

because we remember Jesus' promise and commission:

You didn't choose me; I chose you to bear fruit that will last.

How do we know that is true?

Christ is risen: He is risen indeed. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.