The Reverend Kirk T. Berlenbach

Proper 6, Year C

June 13, 2010

A few years back, I was swapping stories with a fellow priest. A number of years ago, he was serving in a small church in Scotland. Now one day Steve was in the pub and the television was reporting on the First Gulf War. Now sitting down the bar was Hamish. As the story continued, Hamish began to mutter and the “Damn Americans.” As the minutes passed, Hamish got louder and turned to direct his comments at Steve. “Yank! Hey Yank!” Finally Steve could ignore this baiting no longer, stood up and said, “You got something to say to me Hamish?” When Hamish stood, he towered over Steve (who stands only about 5’6”) and said, “Let’s settle this outside.” Now even though Steve was grossly over-matched he did not back down and turned to go. At that moment, Tom, the barman interrupted, “Sit down Hamish.” Hamish ignored him and continued to follow Steve towards the pub door. This prompted Tom to shout, “Hamish, if you touch him you’re banned for life.” Now for a Scotsman, being banned from your pub is indeed a very serious threat and Hamish backed down rather quickly.

A very relieved Steve turned to the barman and said, “Thanks a million. If there’s ever anything I can do, you just let me know.” “Do you mean that?” asked Tom. “Of course I mean it,” replied Steve. “Then would you baptize my granddaughter?” asked an embarrassed Tom. “Of course I would,” said Steve. Tom paused for a moment then explained, “Well, you see Reverend, her mother’s not married.” Without missing a beat Steve smiled and asked, “When would you like it to be done?”

What you need to understand is that while unwed mothers are rather commonplace for us, in small town Scotland 17 years ago, there was still an element of scandal to it and certainly enough shame to make the whole idea of baptism very awkward. But Steve was more than happy to oblige. When the day of the baptism finally arrived Steve walked into the church to see a remarkable sight- the church, which usually all but empty, was instead practically full. The pews were packed with all the friends and customers of Tom the barman. And they certainly did not look like your typical churchgoers. Many were clad in black leather and sported tattoos, and the vast majority of them had not darkened the doors of a church in decades. Yet there they were.

Even more remarkably, for the remainder of Steve’s time in Scotland many of these folks continued to come to church. Then Steve had to go back to the States. And after he left, these men and women stopped coming. It seems that Steve was replaced by a local priest with rather traditional sensibilities who made some off hand remarks about how Steve’s agreeing to baptize Tom’s granddaughter was “inappropriate” and that such a thing would never happen “on his watch.” Not long after, all the bar patrons stopped coming.

I don’t know if this priest felt that their departure was all that great of a loss. But regardless, I think we can all see that his attitude was in conflict with the message of today’s Gospel. The single biggest crisis the Church faces is declining membership. Our pews are empty, yet we are surrounded by potential members who never darken our door. Surprisingly, this is not simply because they are disinterested. Many people who do not come to church still want to feel connected to G-D and would love to find fellowship and a sense of family… in short, they would indeed like to be part of a church. So why don’t they? There are many reasons… but the biggest is that they don’t feel accepted for who they are. What Steve experienced in Scotland certainly proves the point. It’s not that Tom’s bar patrons didn’t want to come to church… it’s that they felt too awkward to go because of who they were… because of their lifestyles, because of how they looked and most importantly because it had been beaten into their heads from the time that they were children that people like them had no business being in church in the first place. Yet time and time again we turn our backs on those who are in the greatest need of hearing the Gospel because we allow them to believe that there is no place for them in the Church.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing could be more at odds with the message of today’s Gospel. The prostitute who comes to Jesus could never, ever, set foot inside the temple because she was “unclean.” She clearly longs to come back to G-D but the religious establishment of her time has put up so many barriers, that it is simply impossible. But when she comes to Jesus, he does not turn her away. In fact, he ignores the rules and traditions of his religion and allows her to touch him. He then goes even further and, forgoing all the rituals and laws, tells her on the spot that her sins are forgiven!

This encounter conveys the essence of Jesus’ message. He came to break down the barriers between us and G-D so that we might be able to experience the love of G-D exactly where we are. It is available to everyone, even those who haven’t stepped foot inside a church in years… perhaps especially to those who haven’t stepped foot inside a church in years! Unfortunately, the Church has not done our part to put this part of his teachings into practice.

It is for precisely this reason that St. Timothy’s chose to get involved with the Opening Tap event of Beer Week last Friday. For those of you are did not know about our involvement, about seven weeks ago we were asked to partner with Philly Beer Week to be the sponsor and permit holder for the event that took place at the Independence Visitor’s Center. Although a church sponsoring a beer festival might seem to be an odd or even irreverent combination, I, along with a majority of the vestry jumped at the chance. But what you really need to understand is not the what but the why. It wasn’t for the money although the money we will make is a nice bonus. It wasn’t for the beer although it is true that the eight members of the church and beer club certainly enjoyed the chance to sample some of the region’s best beers. No, the real reason why took such a PR risk and spent so much time dealing with paperwork and the LCB was to be able to share a wonderful revelation that many people at St. Timothy’s have already come to embrace, namely that the love of good beer is not incompatible with loving G-D or with coming to church. Over the course of two and half hours hundreds of people came to our table or spoke to us individually. By the end of the night all the pamphlets and business cards we brought along were gone. All of the reaction we got was positive. Some people were simple intrigued at the idea of a church sponsor this festival or at our beer club. But many others were touched or even moved at the concept. Time after time I heard people say, “Wow! You guys are the coolest church ever.” “I’m going to come to your church.” or even more poignantly, “If only my church had been like yours I might never have left.” An additional bonus was the wonderful press we have gotten, which only further helps us share our real message; that people can come to G-D and to our church without having to check part of who they are at the door, with an even larger audience.

This is a good thing because we are surrounded by people thirsting to be told that G-D loves them, that G-D forgives them and that G-D accepts them for exactly who they are. And when the Church manages to proclaim this, the results can be remarkable. My friend Steve had success in Scotland because when he agreed to baptize the illegitimate granddaughter of Tom the barman, he unequivocally demonstrated to all of the bar patrons that he was not going to judge them and that he was not going to make them feel unworthy to come to church and before G-D. On the contrary, by agreeing to baptize this little girl Steve communicated Jesus’ message of love and acceptance more effectively than any sermon could ever do. And the results spoke for themselves.

If we at St. Timothy’s can continue to successfully communicate this message… if we can continue to have the courage to defy traditional expectations and cultural norms as Jesus did and instead to keep on putting our energy into finding new and creative ways of living out this Gospel of unconditional love and acceptance, then we need never fear declining membership… people will flock to our door just as they flocked to Jesus in the Gospel. Jesus has given us a great gift, we already know that G-D loves us for who we are. All we need do is to be willing to share it with all the people outside our church who are longing to hear it.