Epiphany 6 2014

So I hope that you will tell this tale tomorrow

It will help your heart remember and relive
It will help you feel the anger and the sorrow

And forgive

- "Why We Tell the Story" from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

In our Holy Eucharist we find a delicate and powerful balance between the two parts to the service - the Word of God and the Holy Communion. In both parts of the service, there are a series of calls and responses from the ministers and the congregation, phrases repeated week after week, and gestures and postures assumed as we participate in the celebration, our principle Sunday worship.

For those who do not come from a liturgical background, our standing, kneeling, repeating and gesturing can be confusing. In reality it can even be confusing to us. Why do some of us bow our heads at the mention of the Trinity, or even when the directions in the worship allow us to stand for the Eucharistic prayer, why do some of us always kneel through that portion of the service? And the readings from the Holy Scriptures; why do we cycle through them ever three years, repeating the same patterns, hearing the same readings read and explained/unpacked in the homilies and sermons offered by the preachers?

This month, the Erie Playhouse is producing the Lynne Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, based on Rosa Guy's 1985 novel MY LOVE, MY LOVE. In the context of the stage production, a small community is confronted by a terrible and awesome storm which frightens one of the young people. In order to allay her fears, the community come together to tell and act out a story of love, beautiful and painful, heartrending and life affirming. The story not only distracts the young girl from her fear, but also instills community values of love and forgiveness, acceptance and hope.

Anyone who sees the musical cannot help but make a connection to our own community, often gathered together in times of struggle or question. And just as the virtual stage community tells its stories to bind the members together and to reassure them of their future, our faith community gathers together, hearing stories and songs from our thousands of years of salvation history. We note the challenges to faith, and the moments of desolation and sadness, but also the moments of glory and celebration.

These stories are shared in the service of the Word, and they are re-called and re-membered in our Holy Communion, when Christ's own words of reassurance and promise are shared with us, making something that happened two thousand years ago very real and very present. It is an action at once pure and simple, and at the same time immensely complex. And still, we share the scriptures, we pray together, we approach the altar, and we share a meal.

We tell the stories, in word and gesture, in prayer and silence, and we, too, rely on our Sunday worship to help us relive and forgive.

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Shawn