For the first time in 30 years, the congregations of the two Episcopal churches in Park Slope (Brooklyn, NY) came together for a joint service at All Saintsâ Episcopal Church. The rector there, Rev. Stephen Paulikas, celebrated, and I preached. This is the sermon.
I grew up two doors down from my best friend. Ernie was from Ghana, and he was the kind of friend you could spend every waking hour with.
When we were little, we kept a joint piggy bank. We combined our allowances so that we could get the most expensive cards at the local baseball card shop.Â
One day, after saving a whopping $14. We went to the store to go on a spree. We spent hours agonizing over which were the best cards for our money. And it was on this day that I realized, for the first time, that Ernie was treated differently than me. How? Well, we were there so long that I couldnât help but notice that the man who usually stood behind the counter was hovering over my friend the whole time we were there.Â
When I asked him about it later, Ernie said simply but matter-of-factly, âBen, theyâre always watching me in the store.â
It was as if scales had begun to fall from my eyes. On that day, I began to realize that, when it came to many things, Ernie was an outsider.
Friends, tonight is the Feast of the Epiphany, and I call the Feast of the Epiphany the Feast of the Outsider. Why? Because it was on this day the light of Christ broke the insider/outsider distinction.
I mean, you heard the story read just a minute ago. Magi from the East, âstrangers to the covenant of promise,â were made heirs of âGodâs eternal kingdom.â On this day, the âdividing wall of hostilityâ between insiders and outsiders was torn down, once and for all, by none other than the seemingly helpless babe.
But donât take my word for it, and donât suppose this is some new-fangled idea. Augustine, the great 4th-century North African theologian, wrote âThe whole Church of the Gentiles has adopted this day as a feast worthy of most devout celebration, for who were the Magi but the first fruits of the Gentile. The shepherds were Israelites; the Magi, Gentiles. One group came from nearby; the other, from afar. Both, however, were united in [Christ] the cornerstone.â
What is he saying? âNear and far;â âJew and Gentile;â âinsider and outsider;â all were made one in Christ the cornerstone.Â
In other words, âThe dividing wall of hostilityâ has been torn down. There is now, therefore, âno more Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for we are all one in Christ Jesus.â
My friends, I know we donât have any big Epiphany sales like we might around Christmas or Easter, but this day is one of the best. In fact, itâs one of the seven principal feasts of the church year. Why? Because itâs good news for the oppressed. Whatâs more, itâs good news for all. In my ten years of being a priest and pastor, Iâve found that everyone I talk to â almost without exception â feels like an outsider in one way or another. Maybe youâre here tonight and you donât fit in, you donât measure up to some standard, or you feel left out. Or maybe youâre here and youâve been unfairly judged, youâve been blackballed because of some past mistake, or youâre youâre simply terribly alone.Â
The revelation of the Epiphany is that weâre all outsiders, but the good news of Epiphany is that God, in Christ, has ushered outsiders in.
Iâm going to say it again, because itâs the crux of this whole sermon, the revelation of the Epiphany is that you and I are outsiders â a scandal to those who think theyâre in; an affirmation to those who know theyâre out â but the good news of Epiphany is that God, in Christ, has ushered outsiders in â a stumbling block to those who think theyâre âin;â the balm of Gildead to those who know theyâre âout.â
Now, donât get me wrong â Iâm not in denial â racism persists. And there are all kinds of other -isms still wreaking their havoc in the headlines, in our neighborhoods, and even in the very Church where Christ has declared them null and void once and for all.
Nonetheless, the One who began the good work of making right all that has gone wrong at his birth can be trusted to make a way out of seemingly no way. The one who âraises the dead, and calls into existence the things that do not existâ will shape us into a people from âevery tribe, tongue, and nationâ who will worship our Lord together on a level playing field.
So friends, on Epiphany the Church was once and for all designated an âall-embracing mother.â It is âa haven for losers,â âa hospital for sinners,â âa refuge for the oppressed,â and though we donât always experience this welcome, and at times we participate in upholding bygone distinctions, Christ will finish the work he started in the manger. The wall will come down. We outsiders will be grafted in.
I actually listened to this sermon on the way in to work this morning. And it reminded me of the Methodist feeling like an outsider in the Episcopal service. Even though I know all the stuff.