September 9, 2007
(Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 18)
God Always Changes the Status Quo
By The Very Rev. Terry White, Dean
Jeremiah 18:1-11 • Psalm
139:1-5, 13-18 • Philemon 1-21
• Luke 14:25-33
(From
The Lectionary Page)
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
I was unpacking books my first week here when I heard a booming voice say, “There he is! Good to see you!” The Dean Emeritus Earl Cavanaugh ambled into my office, shook my hand, and sat down to chat. It was our second meeting, the first taking place during my visit to Kansas City during the final stage of the search process. But before meeting Dean Cavanaugh I had heard of his reputation, and knew something of his work calling the Church to widen the circle, become more inclusive, and address urban concerns.
“You know,” he said, “I told folks not to refer to you as ‘the new dean’ because that means there is also an old dean, and nobody wants to be referred to as ‘old’.”
Indeed nobody wants to be called old, no Church wants to be thought of being old, no parish, no mission, no ministry, nothing about our life in Christ should be judged old.
Today we gather as a faith community with Dean Cavanaugh’s ministry and life among us very much on our minds and in our hearts. We also gather today to celebrate the weekly commemoration of the Lord’s Resurrection. And further, today begins a season of celebrating stewardship, using the gifts God has given us for the ministry God has called us to do.
To be sure, there was quite a bit of discussion about whether to proceed with what was planned several months ago, or delay things given services for Dean Cavanaugh Friday night and yesterday. Once all had been weighed, the decision was clear: Dean Cavanaugh lived a faithful life in Christ, he lived boldly, and like all of us, from time to time sinned boldly. He was without question committed to building up the reign of God through the ministry of this cathedral, and he believed in risking much for the sake of the Gospel. In short, the Very Rev’d Earl Cavanaugh embodied what it means to be a steward. And being an Anglican priest filled with more than a bit of the Irish, he loved God, his family, life itself, his Church, this cathedral, and a good party, especially if the party included Kansas City Jazz and Barbecue.
Over the last several weeks, many remembrances of Earl have been shared. Father DeVeau’s homily yesterday touched us all. Indeed, as some of us share memories of a long acquaintance, others of us encounter Earl for the first time, for not all in our community knew him well. I got to know Earl through our visits, especially on Fridays when he was usually the celebrant of the Eucharist. I also got to know Earl through the cathedral archives.
In reading through some of Dean Cavanaugh’s past Angelus articles, homilies, and other writings, I found several themes that were most often repeated, one being: God always changes the status quo.
On Sunday, September 13, 1987, some twenty months following the collapse of a portion of a nave wall and other repairs, the cathedral congregation held a grand service of re-entry into the nave. The work included renovating the worship space to reflect the emphasis that the (then) new 1979 Book of Common Prayer placed on Holy Baptism, the Word of God, and the Holy Eucharist.
Dean Cavanaugh led the Vestry and parish in understanding that the Episcopal Church was undergoing a period of significant movement. The Church’s liturgy was now encouraging more participation by the laity, both as ministers of the liturgy, and as co-celebrants in the pew. Further, for parishes undergoing building or remodeling projects, this was the time to adopt an architectural style that enabled the pattern of participation embodied in the liturgy. This cathedral was designed to emphasize three liturgical centers, all with equal dignity: the place of Baptism, the font; the place of the Word – the pulpit where the lessons (with the possible exception of the Gospel which traditionally has special emphasis) and sermon and intercessions were read; and the place of the Eucharist – the Holy Table.
It was a bold innovation, some thought. It was controversial, a disaster according to others. It was necessary in order to truly celebrate the new prayer book liturgy, to still others.
What Earl emphasized repeatedly was that this arrangement was about more than moving liturgical appointments. The decision and design meant that this congregation would see common prayer and our common life in new ways. God was indeed changing the status quo.
In our first lesson today, Jeremiah describes Israel as being in need of reworking, like clay in the hands of the potter. The challenge to Israel, and to most of us, is allowing God to refashion us, to speak to us, to convert our hearts and attitudes so that we act. So one of Earl’s favorite themes: God is always changing the status quo, might also read: God is always changing us.
On that same Sunday, September 13, 1987, on the Occasion of the Re-entry into the cathedral, Dean Cavanaugh recounted in his homily all that the congregation had gone through. He said they should feel gratitude for God’s abiding presence, for the hospitality of other city parishes. Gratitude for a sharpened awareness that we live in community, for sharing burdens. And gratitude for a need for repentance. Earl said after being confronted by change:
We have lived with the reluctance and anger of Moses, the bargaining nature of the Prophets, the disappointment, discouragement and misunderstanding of the Apostles, and the cynicism pf those who sit in the seats of the scornful.
He continued: In this process we have had our own idolatries exposed. Sometime read Ezra 3 about the rebuilding of the Temple in the 6th Century BC, how the mixture of gladness and complaining were heard at a distance. Our complaints have been heard around Kansas City, among friends, in our social gatherings, over coffee. Often we have chosen to live and respond in less than a godly way. And for that poor spirit we need to seek forgiveness.
He concluded: Our renovation and restoration needs to go beyond the fabric of this place to the very spirit of our lives.
That was preached here on this same second Sunday of September, 20 years ago. This message is as accurate today as it was then.
What we do here needs to go beyond the fabric of this place to the very spirit of our lives. We must come here expecting to be refashioned like clay in the hands of the Master Potter, to be reworked so that we can hold more of God’s love at our center and pour out that love for others more generously.
Those architectural modifications of giving equal dignity to the Font, the place of the Word, and the Table, were so important to Dean Cavanaugh not because of personal preferences, but because these three liturgical centers were, and are, calling us to the intersection of faith and life in a new way. I’d like to see us live with this vision for a time, in essence to go back twenty years and experience something new to most of us. I think we have what it takes to let this model form us and bless us and renew us. Make us new.
As Earl said, “I don’t want them to call you the new dean because that means I’m the old dean, and nobody likes to be called old.”
I’m told that in his retirement Dean Cavanaugh mellowed somewhat. When I asked him if that was true, he said, “Yeah, I guess I’ve mellowed some. But not like a fine wine, more like Tabasco sauce.”
A cradle member of this congregation wrote in tribute: Earl never let me get it away with saying, “We’ve always done it this way.” Thanks to him I learned that Christ does not want us to sit back and relax, but to grow in our faith and our service to others. God is always changing the status quo.
The Very Rev’d J Earl Cavanaugh, child of God and priest of the Church, provides an excellent model for stewardship: passion for God, for justice, for the marginalized, for the poor and the poor in spirit. For Earl it all began at the Font where he was included in God’s family simply because God loved him. Earl was nourished by the Word of Scripture read and preached, and he was nourished by the Word of God Jesus Christ encountered in the Eucharist. For Earl, all of life was about Jesus. Stewardship is all about Jesus. About loving Jesus, growing in Jesus, and serving Jesus. Being made new in Jesus Christ.
Here, in this place, let us come together and resolve that we will beat the potter to the punch. Let us choose to be reworked, to be made new. Let us proclaim loud and clear: when it comes to loving Christ: we can, and we will.
James Earl, my brother, may you rest in peace and rise in glory, and let God’s people say ‘Amen.’
