The Rev. David R. Wilt s3

11 Pentecost A—Proper 15 August 20,2017

Genesis 45:1-15

Psalm 133

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Matthew 15:10-28

The Rev. David R. Wilt

“What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart comes evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness and slander.”

I could pretty much just sit down now because this sermon has been playing out all week long. I know the eight o’clocker’s would be perfectly fine with that. But if we leave it there we have not gone far enough because we will have only gone so far as pointing the finger at what has come out of other’s mouths, and condemning them.

For us, as followers of Jesus, that is not enough. Because every time we hear words of hatred, words of bigotry, words of division, we as followers of Jesus are likewise condemned if before responding we do not look deeply into our own words and more importantly, because of this highway between our hearts and our mouths, our hearts.

What we may likely find is that perhaps in the jokes we have told, or the jokes others have told that we laughed at, or the company we have avoided, or the silence we have kept that we have fallen short of the mantle of Jesus that we profess to wrap ourselves in.

I must confess that, for me, much of the week emotionally has been like riding the most horrifying roller coaster that Disney could ever envision. 2

Stretching to the top to get a grip on incredible hatred and bigotry that we knew existed but did not think in this day and age would have an audience. Only to have the gravity pulled out from beneath us when those spewing the hate seemed to be lumped into one category with those protesting the hatred and bigotry.

From the rhetoric one could easily come to the conclusion that the best response, to stay out of the cross hairs of the madness was silence, again climbing to the pinnacle of the roller coaster, only to become nauseatingly aware that, as in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “A time comes when silence is a betrayal” (Speech “Beyond Vietnam” delivered at New York’s Riverside Church, April 4, 1967).

We are not nearly at the end of this journey but in order to brace ourselves against the sickening waves of hate talk we are reminded that we, as Episcopalians, have already chosen which side we are on when we took our baptismal vows.

It is times like these when those vows written on our hearts and a seal upon our foreheads must come forth from our lips: “We will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.” “We will strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.”

We will do this with God’s help because otherwise we will fall short. But we will do it, or we are not worthy to come to this communion table and kneel and receive the body and blood of Christ, elbow to elbow with whomever kneels next to us.

We will do this, with God’s help, because otherwise we will fall short. But, we will do it or we will be relevant any longer as a Body of Christ. 3

Hatred has no place in our baptized body. Bigotry has no place in our baptized body. Hippocracy has no place in our baptized body.

And, if we shy away from speaking out and professing our baptismal beliefs we are no better than the disciples who on the night of Christ’s arrest and the day of his crucifixion ran and hide and said not a word. Their silence became betrayal, except for Peter who chose to verbally deny his relationship with Christ.

What do we have to lose if we fail to live into our baptismal vows and follow the first disciples when their leader was being falsely accused and persecuted and lynched in the fashion of the day?

The answer is simply, everything.

Monday, in the midst of the roller coaster ride, Sandy and I went to Costco, at noon, with our granddaughter, Alora. Now when you are already on edge, Costco may not seem to be the best place to take refuge especially around lunch time when the food sampling stations come out and cart rage reaches epic proportions.

But I was pushing the cart along trying to keep from creating a massive collision when I felt a small, warm hand cover my hand. I looked down and Alora had placed her little brown hand over mine and was looking up at me smiling with what I could only describe as a smile of love and trust and innocence.

And, at that very moment it became crystal clear why silence or indifference were not viable alternatives to what we have been experiencing this past week. At that very moment it became crystal clear to me why this hatred and bigotry must not be allowed to darken the hearts of yet another generation. 4

Silence or indifference to our baptismal vows will not suffice when your granddaughter or grandson, who may naturally be tanner than you, are is subjected to rejection or repression in any form or manner.

Silence or indifference to our baptismal vows will not suffice when your granddaughter or grandson, who may be gay, is taunted and bullied and belittled.

Silence or indifference to our baptismal vows will not suffice if your Granddaughter is ever told that, because she is a woman, she will not be able to do certain things or will make less money doing them.

My dear friends there is a lot at stake here beyond words of inflammation. There are precious lives at stake here.

So where do we go from here?

The original disciples, after their first inclination to run and hide came forth to build the body of Christ and most of them died as martyrs at the end of the day. So if we have been silent to our baptismal covenant in the past there is no reason why that need be so in the future. Hatred and bigotry cannot win this day because there are precious lives at stake here and our silence cannot betray them.

My Mother used to tell me, “sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.

I believed my mother at the time, but then Jesus reminded me that, “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this is what defiles.”

Words do matter. Words do make a difference. Words to minorities have power and so words have the power to defile. 5

So meet words with words. Words that hatred and bigotry will not be tolerated. Words that love and acceptance is what we expect and offer to anyone who would come our way.

Do not meet words with silence for someone may mistake us for not caring when in reality we care for them to the cross and beyond.