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| We all need friends to help us read the map of our Faith journey. |
This sermon was preached on October 31, 2018 during the transferred Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude. The readings that inspired the sermon were the following:
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.” These words ended today’s Gospel lesson. In the Episcopal Church we do not often speak of testifying or that dirty word “evangelizing.” And yet, Christ foretells not just for his disciples, but for all his people that we are to share His Good News, even to the ends of the earth. So, how do we do this? I’ll tell you how… WITH FRIENDS! More on these friends in just a moment.
As a kid, I often heard stories at home and at Camp Winnataska about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. I loved these stories of bravery, perseverance, chivalry, and seeking Christ—and His Holy Grail. You know, the Grail is the chalice that Jesus and His disciples drank from at the Last Supper? Legend tells us that Joseph of Arimathea caught some of Jesus’ blood in that cup and it became forever sanctified. Allegedly it even helped Joseph survive for decades in prison even without food. At some point the Chalice was lost and King Arthur sent his Knights on a quest to find the Grail. This is where the going with friends comes into play.
Two of my favorite characters in the Arthurian Legend are Sir Bors and Sir Percival. They were the best of friends—they fought together, prayed together, and sought the Grail together. Even when Percival died, Bors struggled to continue and it was only the search of Christ’s Cup that spurred him to keep going. Hearing of their sort of Christ-focused friendship inspired me as a youth to seek that sort of friendship in my own life. And, as an adult I have found other examples of Christian friendship, like in our saints for today.
Saints Simon and Jude were disciples of Our Lord. Upon Christ’s death they were terrified, but through the power of the Resurrection and the imparting of God’s Spirit they shared Jesus’ Good News all the way to Persia (over 1,000 miles away). They supposedly did this work together. They preached together. They traveled together. They even died together as martyrs in the young Church. Throughout the New Testament Scriptures describing the Early Church we hear of saints like Paul and Timothy as well as Peter and John working together for Christ. And, these ones would not have been emboldened to do God’s work of sharing the grace of Christ with others without each other. Yes, this was true then, but it is also true now.
Today more than ever we need one another. In a book called Christians Among the Virtues Stanley Hauerwas and Charles Pinches speak of the friendship required for our life-long journey. For us to grow to trust God more fully we need friends who will walk with us, friends who have walked before us, and friends who will walk after us. This is to say that in this journey with Jesus we need companions and contemporaries who will be the Simon to our Jude. We also need those who have journeyed before us and who know how to read the map so to speak. Finally we need to pass along our wisdom with those who will walk the journey with Jesus after us. So how do we find these fellow travelers?
Well, you who are sitting here in Church are already surrounded by some fellow wanderers. Still there are more ways to find other pilgrims. One way to sprout new spiritual friendships is through the Cursillo Movement—can you tell I just came off that mountaintop experience myself? I’d love to talk more with you about that. Or, about Spiritual Direction if you want another perspective on reading the map for your journey of faith. Another way to make new spiritual friendships is by coming to Bible Studies, Sunday School classes, or other Christian Formation opportunities here at St. John’s. There are retreats at Camp McDowell, in Sewanee, and in Cullman. Also, you might want to share wisdom you have with others by teaching a class—Harry Moore would love more Christian Formation volunteers. Or, you could serve with our Children’s or Youth Ministries or at Banks-Caddell. The ways to be friends with saints around us is innumerable.
We all need a Bors to our Percival, a Jude to our Simon. Each of us needs spiritual friends that connect us both to older and younger generations. We all need companions for our lives of faith. Who are your friends for the journey with Jesus?
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