St. Mary's Episcopal Church

The Reverend Jeff Fisher
April 23, 2006
Easter 2b: We Shall All Be Changed (Acts 3: 12a, 13-15, 17-26)

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In ancient biblical times, prophets and sages would look up to the heavens to see signs that might foretell the future.
And, when I look up to the heavens at St. Mary’s, I see that you have painted the ceiling MAROON.
Thus, I have discerned that this is a sign from God:
It is time for me to go.
It IS time for me to go.
But, not before I have a chance to preach from this pulpit just one last time.
When I was in kindergarten and first grade, I watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers almost every single day after school.
In fact, when I was in kindergarten, that was the very first year that Sesame Street was on the air.
If you are trying to do the math mentally in your head to figure out how old I am, that was in 1969, and that makes me 42.
Now, when I was in elementary school, and I would get in trouble with my mom, or I would do something really stupid,
She would begin to lecture me about becoming more responsible, about picking up after myself, about making better choices.
And, she would end her little lecture by saying:
"Jeff Wright Fisher, you need to change."
To which I would reply:
"But, Mr. Rogers likes me just the way I am!"
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles,
St. Peter is telling the religious authorities that they must change.
Yet, the people respond:
"But, God likes me just the way I am." But, Peter, preaching from Solomon’s Portico in the Temple in Jerusalem, tells them:
"Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, So that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
It is true that God loves us just the way we are.
But, God wants all of us to repent, to be transformed, to change.
Since I have only been ordained for less than two years, many people will ask me:
What is the most surprising thing that you have learned since you have been ordained?
And my answer is that I have learned to never underestimate people’s amazing resistance to change.
Which, I have found very surprising, because, I believe, at the heart of the Christian Gospel, is a message of transformation, repentance and change. The Greek word for this is “metanoia” - from which we get the word “metamorphosis.”
Metanoia is a rich word, meaning to turn, to repent, to transform, to change. In the Book of Acts, Peter, preaching from Solomon’s Portico in Jerusalem, tells the religious authorities,
“Repent therefore, and turn to God.”
Peter preaches this to all of us, so that we will be open to something new, to something more to life.
For, we must be open to change.
However, it is true that God loves us and accepts us just as we are.
And, one of my huge griefs as I stand in this pulpit today, is that I feel an incredible sense of love for you, as a church and as individuals.
It is a pastor’s love for his people.
I can look around this room and remember all the different times I have loved you.
I have loved you in my office when you needed someone to listen.
I have loved you in a hospital bed.
I have loved you when we have gone to lunch together and shared our journeys.
As your pastor, I have loved you and accepted you just as you are.
But, one of the things that I think has made my ministry special among you is that, even though I love you just the way you are,
My heart has ached because I know that you could be more than who you are now. I have lived among you, in a house in Lakewood Forest,
I have heard the mind numbing siren of suburbia.
I believe that life in this part of town can suck the life out of you as uniformity is rewarded and diversity goes unnoticed.
I have heard the stories of your lives of boredom, fatigue, and sameness.
And, my heart has ached for you as I have challenged you to live not only for ourselves, but for him who died and rose again.
I want more for you, praying that you will experience transformation and change and refreshment by living not only for ourselves, but by living for other people.
I have tried, in my ministry among you, to show you that there is more to life than long commutes and packed schedules and strip shopping centers.
God wants us to change, to go out on a limb, to take a leap of faith.
Yes, God loves you just the way you are.
But, God loves you so much that he doesn’t want to leave you there.
This life of change and risk and uncertainty is the life of the Cross.
And, I believe it is the abundant life that Jesus talks about in his Gospel.
Now, there are some who would say that this transformation, this change, is about personal morality.
However, I am not that concerned about morality.
While good morals are great, None of the world’s great religions condone drug abuse, or pornography or infidelity.
There is nothing particularly Christian about good moral behavior.
Yet, transformation into a people who love their enemies,
Transformation into a people who will lay down their life for their friend.
Transformation into a people who want to spend time with the poor,
That, my friends, is REAL Christian transformation and change.
St. Peter stands on Solomon’s Portico and calls the people to change.
For change is what will make us into people who are more like Christ, who grow in love toward God and toward our neighbor.
I grew up at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, here in Houston.
And, in that church where I grew up, we would have a new associate rector every 2 or 3 years.
Each associate rector had his or her own style,
And each left the parish with his or her own small legacy.
I know that St. Mary’s will be the same way.
And, years to come, you might still remember that I was the first associate rector, but you will probably not remember the details of my ministry here.
But, I do hope that you will remember two things:
1. Jeff loved us just the way we are.
2. Jeff preached from this pulpit and challenged us to change.
If I have ever said something that made you feel uncomfortable, or made you question, or confronted you, or made you disagree with me later in the week, Then, I have done my job.
For, in the Book of Acts, St. Peter preaches from Solomon’s Portico and challenges us to repent, to change, to be transformed.
To be changed into a people who are not as concerned about religion, but are concerned about other people.
Mr. Rogers was right:
God loves us just the way we are.
And, St. Peter and my mother were right, also.
We need to change.
For at the last day,
At the last trumpet,
In a moment,
In a twinkling of an eye,
We shall all be changed.
AMEN.