O God, you have taught us to keep all your
commandments by loving you and our neighbor:
Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be
devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to
one another with pure affection,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In my much younger years
I took that to mean that the result of faith
is a state of idyllic boredom,
where everything stays the same
and no one rocks the boat.

A very little study, however,
not to mention even less empirical data
thankfully show this to be a false premise.

The words in that prayer,
as derived from ancient languages,
are strident, bold, and full of action.

Being "taught" has the connotation of the Greek gymnasium.
"Keeping" is holding close to the heart.
"Commandments" are the stuff of life and unity of purpose.
"Love" is a dynamic action verb.
"Grace" and "Holy Spirit" move heaven and earth.
"Devotion" is the willingness to give one's life for another.
"Whole heart indicates true unity
of purpose and action.

And, "Jesus Christ Reigns" is powerful, revolutionary talk.
We know all this from the entire witness of holy scripture.

Nothing is ever static:
There is always movement in the scriptural record
from darkness to light,
from chaos to purpose,
from slavery to freedom,
from fragmentation to unity
on a journey with God.

The prototypical story of transition in scripture
is the Exodus event,
where God led people, who were no people
out of slavery in Egypt to Mt. Sinai
to give them the rules of the road
for a 40 year trek through the wilderness,
following a vision of God
by day and by night.

They were beset by many troubles along the way,
thorns and temptations
bandits and slave traders
winds and wadis,

but, they were on a journey
learning how to be a people before their God.

It didn't always work.
Some resist the most strident love of God.

In today's call of Ezekiel,
God refers to those people as a "Rebellious House".
Nevertheless, he says,
Ezekiel, go to them, let me know I love them,
and call them to faithfulness.

In the Gospel Reading today,
Jesus is run out of his own home town
and is rendered by their disbelief
powerless to work any miracles among them.

Often, people resist change to their death,
even when that change is life giving and full of promise.

I think, however,
the words "change" and "transition"
have different meanings.

Transition is Change with a plan, engaged with faith.

We have recently recalled such
in our national holiday of the past week.

The American Revolution was a crisis point
of a transition which began
when a band of goldsmiths
landed at Jamestown in 1607
and found no gold
and continues to this day.

The issues are identity, unity, and purpose.

Our forefathers didn't just decide to de-stabilize the colonies,
they had a purpose and a dream.

They believed that God stands at the center
of civilization and all life;
and that liberty, unity, and happiness flow
from the heart of God.

They believed that power emanates from God
through the hearts and actions of free men
and not through the largess of kings.

In the Declaration of Independence
they scribed this ideal,
and further pledged their life, fortunes, and sacred honor.

Had they not articulated that vision, or not made that pledge,
there would have been no point to the enterprise,
only fragmentation, failure, and death.

Theirs was a powerful statement,
giving a vision for transition and new life.
It was a departure on a journey that had never been made
in the history of human endeavor.
It led them through cold winters
and impossible odds
to the birth of a Nation.

It takes vision to turn change into transition.

Constantly, many question where we are going as a nation.
That questioning is part of the process,
part of the formation and the following of vision.

Note the readings today.
There are lots of wrong turns on any such journey,
but God sends prophets, attends the enterprise.

We are embarking on transitions,
you and I.

It can be unsettling,
but it is not without vision.

God is calling Saint James to a new level
of unity and faithfulness.

Last week, one of the clergy
being interviewed for the post of Interim Priest
came at my invitation
to visit your Rectory.

After he left, Sandy said,
"I didn't like that man coming into my kitchen."

It's hard to accept the journey,
but, he or someone like him
will be in your kitchen
for the next year or so.

Just remember that he will be there
to see you through the time
when you and your lay leadership
will be turning your faces toward the future,
grasping a vision,
and setting out on a great new leg
of your journey.

There will be nothing boring or predictable about it;
for, God will go with you.

Enjoy his presence. Revel in his love.
Respond to his prophets among you.
Make wonderful discoveries.
Hold dear the vision God delivers to you.
Pray always, as I shall pray for you:

O God, you have taught us to keep all your
commandments by loving you and our neighbor:
Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be
devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to
one another with pure affection,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.