Sermon

St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Durham, NC

December 3, 2006 - Installation of the Rev. Scott Benhase at St. Alban's

The Rev. Harriette H. Sturges

I’m the Rev. Harriette Sturges, a deacon from the Diocese of North Carolina, more precisely a deacon assigned by the Bishop of North Carolina to St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Durham, N.C., the parish from which you stole our rector. To compound the problem we lost not only Scott, his wife and children, but even his mother-in-law Mary Catherine. However, in the spirit of Christian love and knowing that we are all a part of the True Vine and the Body of Christ, I bring greetings from your sisters and brothers at St. Philip’s. We are still grieving and catch ourselves saying, “Well, Scott would have said …”  Indeed, we are in the same place you found yourselves in a little more than a year ago.  Profile committees and search committees, and we are in the midst of construction.  Some of us are secretly rather glad that since Scott skipped out before our construction disrupted our lives that he ended up in construction as well and will have to endure the noise, the dust, and the discombobulation. Did I mention that we still have heat? But who’s keeping score or being vindictive?

I’m not here to spy on him and see how he is doing or to check on you to see how you are treating him. I understand from both Kelly and Scott that you have been wonderful and welcoming to them.  I’m here instead to make sure he is firmly planted, installed in this part of the Kingdom of God. I’m here to rejoice with you in our God of new beginnings and of new birth.  I’m here to remind you and myself and by extension St. Philip’s that new beginnings come from endings.  We have a beautiful Advent hymn in our hymnal Wonder, Love and Praise that so perfectly expresses this:

Can it be that from our endings, new beginnings you create? Life from death, and
from our rendings, realms of wholeness generate? Take our fears, then, Lord and turn them into hopes for life anew….Give us hope and faith and gladness.  Show us what (we yet can do) there yet can be.

Whenever God enlarges the site of our tent, as Isaiah expresses it, and tells us to let the curtains of our habitations be stretched out, there is both rejoicing and grieving, reaching out and letting go, change. No, I won’t tell you that the only person who likes change is a baby whose diaper needs it. I don’t think this is always true.  There comes a time when we are ready to try something new, ready to change, ready to risk. Because of your call to Scott coming from the Holy Spirit and his acceptance of this call because of the Holy Spirit, we’re learning to live without Scott and you are learning to live with him- a new beginning, a challenge, a blessing for us both. So it’s fitting that his installation is on the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year. Show us what there yet can be.

Our gospel speaks of the True Vine and how we are to abide in the vine in order to bear abundant fruit.  One of Scott’s great gifts is abiding, his faithfulness to our Lord through his daily prayer and rule of life, in his teaching and preaching and celebration of the sacraments. However, he doesn’t confuse abiding with being stubborn or staying stuck in the same old rut. Although he doesn’t know much about gardening – Kelly is the expert on planting and pruning – he did inspire us to bear more fruit.  St. Philip’s is more diverse now, has a larger budget, has more parishioners, more outreach, and more programs.  We are more active in the community, in the diocese, and in the world. We are mostly able to speak the truth with each other and deal with disagreement in a healthier way. Scott taught us not to say that a glass is half empty or half full but to see it as overflowing with abundance, thus enlarging our vision of the kingdom.  In other words, our part of the Body of Christ is functioning well which is a tribute to Scott’s leadership.

I looked at your website and saw the depth and breadth of your programs in church and ministries in the community.  Surely you are a light set on the hill, a beacon to show the love of God to those around you.  Your location is awesome.  Awesome because you are at the pinnacle of the city of political power. Awesome because on this hilltop you have a panoramic view.  And what do you see?  Monuments and landmarks, a river and green spaces, boulevards and bridges? You know money and power are there. You know life-and-death decisions that affect the universe are being made not just at the medical centers, but at the Pentagon, and the White House and the Capitol. Remember how many momentous events took place on mountain tops-the landing of the Ark, the giving of the Law, the City of Jerusalem, the transfiguration. Remember that there are life-and-death decisions that this parish makes as you discern to whom and to what you offer your time, talent and treasure. There can be so many important and big things that finding the pearl of great price, the mustard seed, the kingdom of God can be difficult.

But remember, too, that Jesus so often called us down the hill, down the mountain to work, to listen for and to the voice of God and find where God is already working and join in.

I understand with a great deal of joy that this diocese is now considering having deacons like myself who do not transition into priesthood. I can go on and on about why this is important and how it will make a difference.  But this afternoon I want to say to someone or ones here in this congregation that I believe there is a call for you to this order of ordained ministry.  Honor it.

I also want to say how delighted I am that you will be beginning the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program here.  It will make an amazing difference in your life together and not just for the children. The adults who become catechists and the families involved, indeed the whole parish will be affected for the better.  Remember that Maria Montessori won a Nobel Peace Prize for her program and the Catechesis is based on her method of “self-teaching” combined with the theological basis of our Christian faith.  It is the best program there is and I commend you for beginning and delight to imagine your joy in it.

And now Scott, my dear friend and former boss, will you stand please.

Scott, you have been called to this place at this time by the Holy Spirit.  Remember, as our psalm today warns, not to put your trust in rulers, or in any child of earth or even only in yourself, but only in the Lord your God.  Always remember this God, this God who made the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that is in them; this God who gives justice to those who are oppressed and food to those who hunger, who sets the prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind and lifts up those who are down.

Will the congregation please stand and join Scott.

My sisters and brothers in Christ, continue in the great work in this great place to which you have been called.  Remember not to put your trust only in Scott or programs but in the Lord your God.  Remember as Paul’s letter to the Romans instructs us to hold fast to what is good, to love one another with mutual affection, to outdo one another in showing honor, to be ardent in spirit and serve the Lord, to persevere in prayer and live in harmony with one another and to let God be your hope so that as the Advent hymn proclaims:

God’s promised realm of justice will blossom throughout the earth, God’s
dominion will be now near us as we await the saving birth.

Now all of you rejoice in the power of the Spirit and continue to love and serve the Lord. Amen.

© 2006, Saint Philip's Episcopal Church
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 218, Durham, NC 27702
Telephone 919-682-5708, Fax 919-683-1857

Webmasters: Jack Mitchell, David Smith