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Cathedral Evensong sermon preached by The Venerable Howard Leigh, Precentor
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 8th August, 2010
Readings: Isaiah 11:10-12:6; 2 Corinthians 1:1-22

All of us who have been responsible for children are familiar with the response by those in our care, "All you ever say to me is ‘no.’ why don’t you ever say ‘yes?" This is not only a usual parental posture, ‘no’ can be our initial response as adult to adult and especially when we are tired, feeling threatened or anxious about exploring change. I know parents try to develop strategies where they can pause before the dreaded ‘no’ pops out of their mouths. Maybe as adults we need to do the same. Over the years I have tried when naturally anti or hesitant to find a way to say to the other person or group, let me think about it rather than pouring cold water on something immediately. It isn’t easy! St. Paul is addressing this in the last few verses of tonight’s second lesson. He reflects on his own difficulties with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ but says that the great thing about Christian faith, is that “in Christ every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’. For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God.”
You know - don’t you? - that the word "Amen" means, if you strip away all the theological baggage we put on it, simply "Yes!" Sometimes when we say "amen," it’s like an echo of a note that sings out deep within us, a sound that rings true, and we know it from the bottom of our heart - a gut reaction, if you will. "Yes!" It’s almost as if we can’t help it. This response seems to come from nowhere, and is on our lips - whether or not we actually utter it. The word "response" is important, for this "yes" is in response to something that has been said or done. Like when we hear, see or experience something that we know is so very true, or when prayer is offered that resonates with us and we want to affirm God’s faithfulness so have to respond "yes!"
Contrary to what many people mistakenly believe, "Amen" does not mean "the end." I have to admit, however, that a prayer ended without an "Amen" takes a bit of getting used to! Some people were disappointed when we began to leave out the ‘amens’ at the end of hymns – the reason being that the purpose of the "amen" in prayer or praise, however, is not to bring something to a close. It is to add our "yes!" upon the "yes!" that we have heard from beyond us, and maybe if we use it at the end of every religious statement it loses meaning with overuse.
This brings me to something else that is true of an "amen." Often, it is spoken as an affirmation of faith, meaning "this I believe with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength." Next Sunday when we celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation, those being confirmed and those making a re-affirmation, after answering the questions put by the bishop and responding I will, together with the rest of us will say: ‘Amen, may we and they together be found in Christ and Christ in us’.
These are covenant words. They bind those who speak them, from this day forward, to the One who has first said "Yes!" to them. It is a response to a word already spoken, a promise already fulfilled and yet still remaining to be lived out. Baptism and Confirmation, are in reality, a "yes" upon a "yes." The truth is, every time we respond with an "amen," with our simple (and yet very far-reaching) "yes" upon God’s "yes," we - as believers in and followers of the One in whom, as the apostle Paul wrote, "every one of God’s promises is a ‘yes’" - are reaffirming our baptismal vows.
It’s not just about "us," though, and "our" ability to stand tall and say "yes." If it were, how easily our "yes" would (and does) shift to "no." When the going gets rough, and we face into places in life where what we believe is counter to the prevailing mood - when our steps of faith are costly - the temptation to turn from "yes" to "no" is great. As I said, our "amen," our "yes" is like an echo of a sound already in the air, a word already heard, a voice upon which we lean in all seasons of life ... and death. Without this "yes" of God upon which our "yes" is based, our promises are like dust in the wind.
Paul wrote the words we heard tonight as a response to the doubts of Christians in the Corinthian church, a congregation he had an important role in starting. His preaching brought it into being, as he passed along the good news he had received - God’s "yes" in Jesus Christ. His calling from the Lord, however, was as a seed caster. Like a farmer, he tossed the seed of God’s "yes’ upon the soil of that city, but others were then called to tend and harvest that seed. Paul then moved on to other places. Even so, he kept up his connection with these people. Evidence of this are (not one, but) two letters we find in our New Testament.
When he left Corinth, Paul promised to return. In the meantime, that seed really grew in the soil of that church. It became a vibrant community of faith. They had their struggles, mind you. They were far from perfect. Having problems in a church, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it is a sign that you are alive. A church that is dead doesn’t have any problems? Except, that is, the fact that it’s dead. Think about that the next time you get frustrated working with people in this body of Christ. When a community says "yes", that doesn’t mean we are all singing the same note.
That was definitely the case in Corinth, where the congregation weren’t exactly even singing in the same key. Remember in Paul’s first letter to the Church of Corinth he wrote that wonderful chapter on love - "...faith, hope, love abide, these three - but the greatest of these is love"? He was like a choir director at that point, tapping on the conductors stand with his baton, trying to get this highly gifted group of singers to sing together in harmony.
Paul, knows that the people of Corinth are annoyed with him and have doubted his integrity because he failed to make the further visit he had promised. He explains about the things that prevented his return and acknowledges that sometimes our yes turns out to be a no and not always by choice. Has your integrity ever been challenged, because a different course of action has been taken? Mine has. "You made a promise you didn’t keep," was the charge. "Therefore, how can you be trusted."
Who can argue with that logic - except to assert that every day all of us fail in some way to uphold our end of a promise. Can any of us say otherwise? ... We’re human, and all too easily, we fail but most of us are generous enough to understand the reasons. Now this is the point that Paul is making – our yes is fallible but for the grace of God, our faithfulness depends upon God’s faithfulness. When we fail, as we will, we depend upon God’s promise to pick us up and get us moving again. We depend upon God’s forgiveness as we make a fresh start every day.
In writing to the Corinthians who doubted his integrity, Paul simply backed up a step and based his "yes" upon the "yes" of God. "Yes," he said (in effect), "I did promise to return, but my promise depends upon God’s faithfulness. And right now for a whole lot of factors and change in circumstance the door to my return to Corinth is closed, even though I promised. God’s ‘yes’ apparently is moving in a different direction." Can you share my pain at not being able to return and see that God has other ways?
Next Sunday at this time when 15 people of faith make their commitment, they will not be entering into perfection, but acknowledging that every yes they make depends on the grace of God, and God’s plans change and are modified according to what is happening in the world and our lives and we need to be open to that.
We follow Jesus, we are not him. We will fall. That’s not a promise to which I will say "amen." It’s just a reality. However, I can say "amen" to the truth that God picks us up when we fall and grace-fully gets us back on our feet. Our "yes" does not depend upon us. Our "yes," today and every day, depends upon God’s "yes" – and we can say ‘Amen’ to that!