Rector's Annual Report

St. Philip's, Durham

January 25, 2004

The Rev. Scott A. Benhase

I like to read church mission statements, not because they are especially compelling reading, but because they provide a window into the soul of the parish. Many such mission statements are long drawn out tomes. They try to include everything the church could possibly consider being or doing. I imagine when these mission statements were drafted by their particular church leaders; they had a great need to make sure everyone in the parish had something in the statement that would appeal to them. So, the statements end up saying just about everything, which really means in the plethora of words, they really say nothing that is meaningful.

Other mission statements are so sparse that one is led to wonder what the people of that particular church are really up to. On one occasion, when I was working with a particular parish as a consultant, I joked with the rector after the consultation ended that his parish's mission statement ought to read: "We come, we pray, we leave."

I have always been fond of our Mission Statement here at St Philip's. It is now 12 years old, but I still think it captures who we are. It is not too long and not too short. It gets to the point and reflects well the soul of this parish. Let's read it together. It's right there on the back of your Sunday Epistle:

"St Philip's is a holy place where we worship God. Our worship forms us into a community of Christians. By prayer, sacrament, and fellowship, we nourish and sustain one another in our individual lives and ministries. We obey the Gospel call to bring the light of hope in Jesus Christ to all people. We offer welcome, support, food, and shelter to all in need without pride, prejudice, or judgment. We have responsibility to the entire Durham community, especially our downtown neighborhood."

It certainly isn't perfect and there are things we are and things we do that aren't explicitly stated in the Statement, but it says what needs to be said, because it both defines who we are and, maybe more importantly, who we desire to be as God's people on this corner of downtown Durham. All good Mission statements provide a window into the soul of the parish.

If we look at today's Gospel lesson, I think it reflects Jesus giving us a window into his soul. In effect, his quoting the Prophet Isaiah and applying it to his own person is his own vocational mission statement. A paraphrase of what he says in the synagogue might be:

"Because God's Spirit is in me, this is what I'm about; this is what God has revealed to me to be my mission. It's to preach good news to the poor. It's to tell everyone who is held captive that they're now completely free. My calling is to bring renewed sight to those who have become blind. I'm constrained by God to liberate all those who are oppressed. This is my mission. God has looked on His creation and wants you to know that because I am here you are in God's favor."

This is Jesus' mission statement. That means that those of us who desire to follow him as his disciples in this community known at St Philip's Church need to see it as our mission statement as well. What then does Jesus' personal mission statement reveal to us about what God is up to in the world? Can we discover what God is interested in from Jesus' Mission Statement? It seems to me that if can figure out what God is interested in, then we will be well on our way to following Jesus faithfully.

As much as I shy away from a traditional three point sermon, even in a Rector's Report, I want to suggest to you that this self-definition of Jesus tells us three important things that God is interested in.

First, it says that God is against barriers of all kinds. We can scour the Gospels and in every story we will find Jesus breaking down barriers between God and people. For example, when Jesus heals the leper in Mark's Gospel, he is breaking down the barrier that this man has had between himself and the community. The former leper is no longer cut off from the community. When Jesus heals the woman with the hemorrhage of blood, he is breaking down the barrier that has kept her from living fully her life in her family and community. And this is true not just with physical illnesses. When Jesus stops the stoning of a woman caught in adultery and tells her that she is not condemned and that she should return to her family "and sin no more," he is breaking down the barrier her sin had created. In the Gospels, Jesus challenges the accepted interpretation of Jewish Law. He shows us that our religious practices should deepen our relationship with God and not become a barrier to it. When he says that "humanity was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for humanity," he is saying that our religious practices can become an end in themselves and thus a barrier to our relationship with God. The Sabbath is a gift from God so through our rest we can enter into a closer relationship with God. Jesus' mission is about breaking down barriers.

Second, we can see from Jesus' Mission Statement that God is particularly concerned with the least, the lonely, the lost, the lamed, and the left-out. That means that if the human race were an actual race, then God's binoculars would not be fixed on the leaders of the race, but rather they would focused on the back of the pack. Our culture is fixated on the winners; those who finish first. We almost deify winners; from those who win the Super Bowl to those who are voted American Idol. Our culture's understanding of what is fair and just reflects this as well. In our culture, we believe everyone should have a fair and equal start; what we often refer to as a "level playing field." We use this to describe everything from educational opportunities for children to economic competition in business. If everyone has a fair and equal start, then our culture believes we have achieved justice. But God does not seem to care about the conditions present at the start of the race. God rather seems more concerned with the fact that everyone finishes the race together.

Jesus' mission is about bringing people together at the finish. His parables about the Kingdom of God reflect this. For example, the Parable of the Marriage Feast in Matthew's Gospel tells us that a King who throws the feast instructs his servants to go out into the highways and byways and invite in everyone regardless of who they are so that they may enjoy the feast. In the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, Jesus tells the story of a vineyard owner who pays everyone the same wage at the end of the day regardless of how many hours they worked that day. The pattern throughout the Gospels is the same, Jesus wants the least, the lonely, the lost, the lamed, and the left-out to be included so everyone who is created in God's image can finish the human race together. So, Jesus' mission is also about bringing everyone, especially the poor in body or spirit, to the Kingdom of God.

Third and last, God seems to be interested in our joy. In John's Gospel, Jesus says plainly: "I have come that you may have joy and that your joy may be complete." Now joy is not a giddy feeling of happiness. Joy is not laughing ourselves silly. Although a good laugh from my experience is a profoundly spiritual experience. No, joy is experiencing the rightness of things. Joy is participating in the rightness of life. Joy is recognizing when our lives are congruent with God's purposes and desires for our lives.

Joy is Zacchaeus sliding down the sycamore tree and in his joy promising to give away all his income that he got through his dishonest tax collecting. Joy is Mary of Bethany sitting at the feet of Jesus and resting in his presence. Joy is the prodigal son returning to his father and finding his father waiting for him with open arms. Joy is Mary Magdalene realizing that she was loved and accepted by God. Joy is recognizing that God favors us with Jesus and that because of Jesus were are the beloved of God. Joy is recognizing that our lives are inextricably bound up with one another and kneeling at the altar next to our sisters and brothers to receive the Sacrament that promises us our inclusion in Body of Christ. In doing so, we recognize that we are participating in the rightness of life.

Jesus' mission is to break down barriers; to make sure that the poor in body, mind, or spirit are included in God's Kingdom; and, to announce that God desires our joy in life. That's Jesus' mission. And it is our mission as well. I believe we need to hold up everything we do and everything we are as a congregation and see if it fits into Jesus' Mission Statement. If it doesn't, then we need to reconsider doing it.  Likewise, if we are lacking something in our common life that is part of Jesus' Mission Statement, then we need to find a way to make that a part of our ministry. Jesus is the plumb line for all that we are and all that we do.

Peter Drucker, the management guru, offers this simple plumb line for businesses. He says there are really only two important questions to ask. The first is: "What is your business?" And the second is this: "How's business?" Taking Drucker's questions, we should always ask: "What is our business and how are we doing in that business?" Our business is following Jesus and our most important, compelling, and recurring question ought to be: "How are we doing following Jesus?"

I think Wes Newman has done a superb job of summarizing the answer to that question in his Senior Warden's Report, which you will find in the Annual Report packet. In so many ways we are living out Jesus' Mission Statement in our parish life. We should be appropriately proud of what we continue to accomplish together. But we should not rest on our laurels or become too self-satisfied with our accomplishments. For we cannot rest, nor can we become content as long as barriers still exist that separate us from God and one another. We cannot sit idly by while the least, the lonely, the lost, the lamed, and the left-out continue to be excluded in our culture. We cannot turn our backs when cynicism, sarcasm, and despair are the currency of our culture. We are a people of joy who have joy to share with all who will listen to us.

So, let's get on with Jesus' mission. God has done remarkable and amazing things in our midst. I have no doubt whatsoever that God has many remarkable and amazing things in store for us. Let us pray that Jesus will always be the soul of this parish.

Let us pray:

Gracious God, may we at all times and at all places and under every circumstance, be faithful to the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

© 2003, Saint Philip's Episcopal Church
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 218, Durham, NC 27702
Telephone 919-682-5708, Fax 919-683-1857

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