Monthly Archives: May 2019

Funeral Sermon: The Resurrection: The Abolition of Death

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Sermon delivered on Friday, May 31, 2019 at Ephesus Baptist Church, Raleigh NC. There is no audio podcast of today’s sermon.

Lectionary texts: Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 13; John 11.17-27.

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Good morning. I am Fr. Kevin Maney, rector at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church. St. Augustine’s is located in suburban Columbus, OH where my wife, Dondra, and I live, and we are part of the Anglican Church in North America. I would like to thank Pastor Greg for graciously allowing me to be part of the service today and to all of you who have made us feel welcomed here. 

I was Madalyn’s favorite Yankee son-in-law—every family has its black sheep—and I am preaching today because she asked me to. She told me that my sermons reminded her of the peace and mercy of God. Flattered, I asked her what she meant by that and she told me my sermons reminded her of God’s peace because they pass all understanding, and God’s mercy because they seem to extend forever. 

I want to preach Good News to you this morning because life can beat us down, can’t it, and we all need to hear Good News. For those of us who knew and loved Madalyn, these last several months have been grueling to say the least. She was afflicted by a series of  illnesses, old age, and growing infirmity that caused her and those of us who love her to suffer and grieve. Her death, while a blessed release from her astonishingly rapid decline, is the ultimate form of evil because it robs us of our human dignity as God’s image-bearers and can leave us stunned and angry. Death ends permanently the relationships we cherish most in this mortal life. We can no longer see our beloved, hear them, touch them, smell them or interact with them. Our Lord Jesus also knew this about the evil of Death because he snorted in anger at his friend Lazarus’ tomb just before he raised him to life (John 11.38). Death is our ultimate enemy, the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor 15.26). It entered God’s good world as a result of human sin and has inflicted its evil on us ever since. Like Martha in today’s gospel lesson we want to throw our hands up in the air in desperation and ask why God allows this to happen.

But then we remember that Madalyn died during the fifty days of Easter with its great celebration and focus on Christ’s resurrection and the attendant hope and promise that one day God will make everything right, including (and especially) the abolition of Death. And if you paid attention to our gospel lesson, you heard Jesus talk about this breathtaking hope—hope defined as the sure and certain expectation of things to come, not wishful thinking—as he gave Martha and us an ultimately more satisfactory answer to her “why” question about Evil and Death. Jesus did not answer her question directly. Instead, echoing Psalm 23, he acknowledged that while Evil and Death still exist in God’s good but fallen world, he had come to destroy their power over us, which he did, at least preliminarily, in his death and resurrection.

That is why Christian funerals are so important. They serve to remind us that for those who are in Christ—and we know Madalyn was and is united with Christ because she was such a great lover, the kind St. Paul extolled in our epistle lesson—Evil and Death do not have the final say because of God’s great love for us expressed in the death and resurrection of Christ. As Jesus tells us in our gospel lesson, resurrection isn’t a concept, it’s a person, and those like Madalyn who are united with Christ are promised a share in his resurrection when he returns to raise the dead and usher in God’s new world. Jesus’ new bodily existence attests to the fact that we as humans—body, mind, and spirit—matter to God, and that new bodily existence, not death, is our final destiny for all eternity. This is what resurrection is about. This is what we celebrate, especially during the fifty days of Easter. This is what we celebrate today.

St. Paul talks about the nature of our promised resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15 and it is worth our time to see what he has to say. St. Paul tells us that unlike our mortal body that is subject to disease, decay, and death, the resurrection body with which we will be clothed will be like Jesus’ resurrected body. It will be a spiritual body, that is, it will be a body animated and powered by God’s Spirit instead of being animated and powered by flesh and blood. This means that our new body will no longer be subject to all the nasty illnesses, infirmity, or decay to which our mortal body is subjected. Whatever our new body looks like—and surely it will be more beautiful and wonderful than our minds can comprehend or imagine—it will be impervious to death and suited to live in God’s promised new world, the new heavens and earth. 

When Christ returns to usher in the new creation, the dimensions of heaven and earth will no longer be separate spheres for God and humans respectively, and which currently only intersect. Instead, as Revelation 21.1-7 promises, the new Jerusalem, NT code for God’s space or heaven, will come down to earth and the two will be fused together in a mighty act of new creation so that all forms of darkness and evil will be banished and we will get to live in God’s direct presence forever. There will be no more sorrow or sickness or suffering or pain or death or evil of any kind. We will be reunited with our loved ones who have died in Christ and get to live forever with our new body and limitless new opportunities to be the humans God created and always intended for us to be. To be sure, this promise of new heavens and earth has not yet been fully realized and so we must wait in hope and faith for our Lord Jesus to return to usher it in. But even if we must wait, the promise of new creation is the only solution that will ultimately satisfy our hunger for justice and life because only in God’s new creation will all the injustices and hurts be made right and evil vanquished. Madalyn’s life will be fully restored (what better justice for the injustice of Death?) and severed relationships caused by death will made whole and complete again, a life of perfect health and happiness that will last forever, thanks be to God! What can be more just than that?

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not suggesting that we should not grieve. That would be cruel nonsense. You don’t love a person for an entire lifetime and then not grieve her loss when she dies. But as St. Paul reminded the Thessalonians, we are to grieve as people who have real hope and not as those who have none at all. It is this resurrection hope, the promise of new bodily life in God’s new heavens and earth, that we claim today. Our resurrection hope is the only real basis we have for celebrating Madalyn’s life today, because without union with Jesus, none of us have life in this world or the next.

I want to close by telling you a story that powerfully sums up our Christian hope. 

In 1989 Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, wife of Emperor Charles of Austria died. She was the last Empress of Austria, Queen of Hungary, and Queen of Bohemia—one of the last members of the storied House of Habsburg. Her funeral was held in Vienna, from which she had been exiled most of her eventful life. After the service in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, her body was taken to the Imperial Crypt, where some 145 Habsburg royals are buried. As the coffin was taken to the Crypt, an ancient ceremony took place. A herald knocked at the closed door, and a voice responded, “Who seeks entrance?” The herald answered, “Zita, Empress of Austria, Queen of Hungary.” From within came the response, “I do not know this person.” The herald tried again, saying, “This is Zita, Princess of Bourbon-Parma, Empress of Bohemia.” The same reply was heard: “I do not know this person.” The third time, the herald and pallbearers said, “Our sister Zita, a sinful mortal.” The doors swung open.  

And so we return to Jesus’ question to Martha and us in our gospel lesson. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this? If you do, then act like the resurrection people you are! I don’t know why God allows all the suffering and bad things that happen in this world. I don’t know why Madalyn had to deal with the anxiety and illness and infirmity that she did. I don’t know why she declined so rapidly. I don’t know why her sister and her daughters, especially Diane, had to be subjected to the heavy burden of caring for their failing mother. None of it had to go that way, yet it did. 

But I do know this. Madalyn has been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb shed for her on the cross and made fit to stand in God’s holy presence forever. She will be clothed one day with a new body patterned after the body of her Lord Jesus and set free to love and use her talents in spectacular new and old ways that honor God and others forever. Because of this, I know that on the cross, her sin, along with ours, has been dealt with once and for all because Death will be abolished in God’s new world (1 Corinthians 15.51-56) and Death is the result of Sin. Both will be absent in the new heavens and earth. I know all of this because Jesus Christ is raised from the dead.The promise is mind-boggling. But the God we worship is mind-boggling. After all, we worship the God who has the power to raise the dead and call into existence things that don’t exist (Romans 4.17). Jesus’ promise that he is the resurrection and the life is ours, not because we are deserving, but because of who God is, the God who created us to have life with him forever, and who is embodied in Jesus Christ raised from the dead. That is why we can rejoice today, even in the midst of our grief and sorrow. Because of her faith in Christ who loves her and who has claimed her from all eternity, the doors of heaven have swung wide open for Madalyn—heaven doubtless will never be silent again—and she is enjoying her rest with her Lord Jesus until the new creation and the resurrection of our mortal bodies come in full. And that, of course, is Good News, not only for Madalyn, but also for the rest of us, now and for all eternity.

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Feast of the Ascension 2019: N.T. Wright on the Ascension of Jesus

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The idea of the human Jesus now being in heaven, in his thoroughly embodied risen state, comes as a shock to many people, including many Christians. Sometimes this is because many people think that Jesus, having been divine, stopped being divine and became human, and then, having been human for a while, stopped being human and went back to being divine (at least, that’s what many people think Christians are supposed to believe). More often it’s because our culture is so used to the Platonic idea that heaven is, by definition, a place of “spiritual,” nonmaterial reality so that the idea of a solid body being not only present but also thoroughly at home there seems like a category mistake. The ascension invites us to rethink all this; and, after all, why did we suppose we knew what heaven was? Only because our culture has suggested things to us. Part of Christian belief is to find out what’s true about Jesus and let that challenge our culture.

This applies in particular to the idea of Jesus being in charge not only in heaven but also on earth, not only in some ultimate future but also in the present. Many will snort the obvious objection: it certainly doesn’t look as though he’s in charge, or if he is, he’s making a proper mess of it. But that misses the point. The early Christians knew the world was still a mess. But they announced, like messengers going off on behalf of a global company, that a new CEO had taken charge.

What happens when you downplay or ignore the ascension? The answer is that the church expands to fill the vacuum. If Jesus is more or less identical with the church—if, that is, talk about Jesus can be reduced to talk about his presence within his people rather than his standing over against them and addressing them from elsewhere as their Lord, then we have created a high road to the worst kind of triumphalism.

Only when we grasp firmly that the church is not Jesus and Jesus is not the church—when we grasp, in other words, the truth of the ascension, that the one who is indeed present with us by the Spirit is also the Lord who is strangely absent, strangely other, strangely different from us and over against us, the one who tells Mary Magdalene not to cling to him—only then are we rescued from both hollow triumphalism and shallow despair.

Conversely, only when we grasp and celebrate the fact that Jesus has gone on ahead of us into God’s space, God’s new world, and is both already ruling the rebellious present world as its rightful Lord and also interceding for us at the Father’s right hand—when we grasp and celebrate, in other words, what the ascension tells us about Jesus’s continuing human work in the present—are we rescued from a wrong view of world history and equipped for the task of justice in the present. Get the ascension right, and your view of the church, of the sacraments, and of the mother of Jesus can get back into focus.

— N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope.

Feast of the Ascension 2019: Dr. John Stott on the Ascension (2)

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There is no need to doubt the literal nature of Christ’s ascension, so long as we realize its purpose. It was not necessary as a mode of departure, for ‘going to the Father’ did not involve a journey in space and presumably he could simply have vanished as on previous occasions. The reason he ascended before their eyes was rather to show them that this departure was final.  He had now gone for good, or at least until his coming in glory.  So they returned to Jerusalem with great joy and waited – not for Jesus to make another resurrection appearance, but for the Holy Spirit to come in power, as had been promised.

—Understanding the Bible, 103.

Feast of the Ascension 2019: Dr. John Stott on the Ascension (1)

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It is a pity that we call it ‘Ascension Day’, for the Bible speaks more of Christ’s exaltation than of his ascension. This is an interesting avenue to explore. The four great events in the saving career of Jesus are described in the Bible both actively and passively, as deeds done both by Jesus and to Jesus. Thus, we are told with reference to his birth both that he came and that he was sent; with reference to his death both that he gave himself and that he was offered; with reference to his resurrection both that he rose and that he was raised; with reference to his ascension both that he ascended and that he was exalted. If we look more closely, we shall find that in the first two cases, the active phrase is commoner: he came and died, as a deliberate, self-determined choice. But in the last two cases, the passive phrase is more common: he was raised from the tomb and he was exalted to the throne. It was the Father’s act.

—The Exaltation of Jesus (sermon on Phil. 2:9-11)

Feast of the Ascension 2019: A Prayer for the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus

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O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Savior Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

—From The Book of Common Worship

Feast of the Ascension 2019: Pope Leo the Great on the Ascension of Jesus

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With all due solemnity we are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up, in Christ, above all the hosts of heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father. And so our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high. This faith was increased by the Lord’s ascension and strengthened by the gift of the Spirit.

Traditional Memorial Day 2019

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iuToday is the traditional day for Memorial Day, originally called “Decoration Day.” Until 1971 it was always celebrated today. But afterward it has become a movable federal holiday. You can read about its history here, and I hope you will take the time to do so. On a personal note, my grandparents Shaffer were married 102 years ago today in 1917. That it has been 102 years boggles my mind.

Take a moment today to remember again those who have given their lives so that we might enjoy the freedom we have. Take time to remember the current members of our armed forces as well and give thanks that God continues to raise up brave men and women to serve our country in a very dangerous world.

Thank you veterans, past and present, for your service to our country. May God bless you and yours.

A Prayer for Memorial Day 2019

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Adapted from here:

Eternal God,
Creator of years, of centuries,
Lord of whatever is beyond time,
Maker of all species and master of all history —
How shall we speak to you
from our smallness and inconsequence?
Except that you have called us to worship you in spirit and in truth;
You have dignified us with loves and loyalties;
You have lifted us up with your loving-kindnesses.
Therefore we are bold to come before you without groveling
(though we sometimes feel that low)
and without fear
(though we are often anxious).
We sing with spirit and pray with courage
because you have dignified us;
You have redeemed us from the aimlessness
of things going meaninglessly well.

God, lift the hearts of those
for whom this holiday is not just diversion,
but painful memory and continued deprivation.
Bless those whose dear ones have died
needlessly, wastefully (as it seems)
in accident or misadventure.
We remember with compassion and thanksgiving those who have died
serving this country in times of war.

We all must come to bereavement and separation,
when all the answers we are offered
fail the question death asks of each of us.
But we believe that you will provide for us
as others have been provided with the fulfillment of
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”
because we believe that you have raised Jesus our Lord from the dead
and conquered death itself,
and that you have given us the privilege
of sharing in his risen life as his followers,
both now and for all eternity.
We offer our prayers and thanksgiving
in Jesus our risen Lord’s name. Amen.

Memorial Day 2019: A Short History of Memorial Day

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From here.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

Read it all.

Memorial Day 2019: General Orders No. 11, Washington DC, May 5, 1868

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From here.

  1. The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit. 

JOHN A. LOGAN,
Commander-in-Chief

N.P. CHIPMAN,
Adjutant General

Official:
WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.

Read the entire order that started Memorial Day.

Remembering on Memorial Day 2019

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Memorial Day PictureI am remembering today the men and women who serve and have served our country, and who have given their lives for this nation.

I am thankful for my own grandfathers, John S. Maney and F. Earl Shaffer, who fought in WWI.

I am thankful for my father, John F. Maney, and my uncle, W. Everett Jones, who fought in Europe during WWII.

I am thankful for my father-in-law, Donald E. Traylor, who served in Germany during the Korean War.

I am thankful for my dear friend and brother in Christ, John Falor, who fought in Vietnam, as well as my friends, Tod Tapola and Jim Lytle, who also fought there.

I am thankful for Colonel David Mullins who fought in Iraq.

I am thankful for Terry Gatwood for his service to our country.

I am thankful for Matt Collins, the son of my dear friends, Ann and Curt Collins, who served his country as a Marine.

Thank you all, and thank God for continuing to raise up men and women who are willing to serve and sacrifice for our country to keep us free.

Fr. Philip Sang: Remembering the Greatest Sacrifice Compelled by Love Led by the Spirit

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Sermon delivered on Easter 6C, Sunday, May 26, 2019 at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH.

If you prefer to listen to the audio podcast of today’s sermon, click here.

Lectionary texts: Acts 16.6-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21.10, 22-22.5; John 14.23-29.

As Christian citizens, we celebrate Memorial Day today for a couple of reasons:

  • The word of God commands us to give honor to whom honor is due.
  • This day also helps us in thanking God for the freedoms we enjoy as a result of the extreme sacrifice made by so many of America’s sons and daughters for the sake of freedom.

So as we remember the sacrifice of others, it is appropriate to thank God who strengthened those who made that sacrifice possible.

In his 1828 magnus opus, American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster defined “sacrifice” – to destroy, surrender or suffer to be lost for the sake of obtaining something (of greater good?). He illustrates this definition in a sentence, 

  • “We should never sacrifice health to pleasure, nor integrity to fame.”

Generally speaking, the reality of sacrifice is something of which this generation of Americans, Kenyans and other countries of the world is sadly ignorant. One unmistakeable proof is the breakdown of the family unit taking place at an alarming rate. I have learned and keep learning that Sacrifice is necessary for any marriage to be successful .Eph 5:25 Husbands are to love their wives as christ loved the church.

We do well as a free citizenry to remember the sacrifice of fallen soldiers. Can I say with utmost respect to the soldier who has given his life for freedom’s cause, that there is an even more obvious omission than being ignorant or unappreciative of such sacrifices? And that is being ignorant or unappreciative of the ultimate sacrifice offered for mankind, a sacrifice that procures the highest freedom man can know…spiritual freedom. Tomorrow I trust the appreciation for the sacrifice of our armed servicemen and women will be renewed. More so i trust that we will seek to increase our appreciation for the leading of the Holy spirit in making sacrifice for those we love.

Last week’s sermon was about the command that christ left us of loving one another and He said no greater love that this that one lays down his life for another.

How far should i go in Love?

When an individual enlists in the military, especially during times of war, he or she must be cognizant that the answer they may have to give to the question, “How far should I go?” is “all the way,” even to the death.

Thinking about the sacrifice of Jesus for us, I sincerely doubt there exists an adequate illustration in our natural world that communicates the depths to which Christ went in giving His life for mankind. It is because we are deceived and blinded by our own collective tendency to overstate our value that we fail to grasp the absolute depths Christ experienced.

The unifying theme of today’s readings is “Guided by the Holy Spirit.” this is on the work of the Holy Spirit that is the focus during easter.  

Christian art has typically depicted the Spirit as dove, wind or flame, all of which are grounded in Scripture. Today’s texts use none of those images.

Instead, the Spirit is One who calls, One who sends dreams and visions, One who opens hearts and reveals new leaders, and One who leads people into all Truth.  

Paul has a vision or dream of a man from Macedonia calling him to come help the people in Macedonia. In response to this, Paul led his traveling companions on a journey that ended in Philippi.

The travelers stay there a few days, long enough to get the lay of the land and to discover where a group of Jewish women normally met for Sabbath prayers just outside the city walls. Here Paul found warm reception for his message of Jesus Christ the results results, Lydia, was baptized with her household.

The reason why Paul came here is more important. Paul relied on the Holy Spirit to direct him in mission. If you go back a few verses, you will see several instances right before this where Paul had intended to preach or teach in Asia Minor (Turkey), but the Holy Spirit stopped him. Instead, as revealed in the dream, Paul was to go across the sea to Macedonia. Upon receiving this vision, Paul and his companions set sail right away.

The mission is the Spirit’s first. Ours is to follow where the Spirit calls and leads.

I believe those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom today in this country too were led by the Holy spirit.

Paul trusted the Spirit who called him to open opportunities for sharing the gospel, starting with any of his fellow Jews who may live there. There was no synagogue in Philippi, so Paul visited the prayer meeting by the river outside the town walls. 

Today, the Holy spirit still lead to the different ministries in the church 

The Holy Spirit directs us in discipleship and mission, closing some doors and opening others.

Living in the Spirit requires that we be open, listening, and watchful for what the Spirit is already doing in the lives of others around us, wherever we may be sent or find ourselves.

Last week, we heard of new creation and the New Jerusalem, a sure sign that our promised hope is in a renewed earth with a renewed human culture. This week we see the new creation not simply as one city, but indeed as a whole planet with nations, political leaders, energy that flows from God, an economy built on the tree of life and the water of life from God, and a renewed world order in which dishonor and falsehood are thoroughly driven out and security and shalom abounds for all whose names are “written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

In Revelation, this world order reflects the goal and summit of God’s new creation. As disciples of Jesus, we are empowered to be witnesses and bearers of that new creation now, while recognizing it is always only God who makes all things new.

Here the Spirit appears not as air or wind, but as light from the lamp (the Lamb, Jesus) and the flowing water of the River of Life. People find their way by the light, and their lives, personally and politically, are sustained and made whole by the water that also nourishes the Tree of Life. The Holy Spirit thus irradiates and flows through everything in this final state, the fulfillment of the life we already have now because in baptism we have been reborn of water and the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit shows the way and continually gives life to all who will receive it.

Jesus says if we love him, we keep his commandment to love one another as he loves us. As we do this, we will find the Holy Spirit teaching us everything we need to know and reminding us of everything Jesus has said.

The Spirit is empowering, powerful, and demanding, continually driving us to do things we could not have imagined we could ever have done, all in obedience to Christ and love to God and neighbor.

Those who fought for the freedom of our beloved nation were motivated i believe by obedience and love for their family and our country  

The peace Jesus offers in these verses is indeed not as the world gives, not a quieting but a “couraging,” not a stilling but a stirring of our hearts to follow where Jesus continues to lead. Christ’s peace and the Holy Spirit give us the capacity to do all of this, regardless of circumstances, unshaken.

Remember that the Holy Spirit continues to teach and guide us in obedience to the word of Jesus.

This week as we remember over 1.1 million men and women have died to guarantee our freedom as Americans, be reminded also that they gave their all so that we might enjoy all the blessings of this great land.  Today, we honor their memory and their sacrifice.  Thank God for every one of them.

 Thank God for His unspeakable gift of Jesus!  May we, never forget Who Jesus is, what He has done for us, and where He is taking us some day!

In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.