Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Gifts of doubt and love and the winged ox

The Feast of St. Luke

I love the image of the winged ox for St. Luke…and all the places it carries me. This window is one of my favorites at my current parish of St. Luke's in Phillipsburg NJ. As a child I was quite taken with the depictions of the four evangelists as magnificent creatures: Matthew the angel, Mark the lion, Luke the ox, and John the eagle. These images have their origin in a vision described by the prophet Ezekiel, a vision of God in which he saw a bright cloud and in the midst of the cloud "something like" four living creatures. Over time, these four creatures (also described in another vision, the Revelation of St. John of Patmos) were associated with the four gospel writers.

I don’t know why Luke got the winged ox, but it has led me on many contemplative wonderings.

We typically think of Luke as a physician, a healer. The symbolism of the winged ox makes me think of strength, perseverance, and energy--all gifts that can aid the healing of body, mind, spirit, and community. The ox also makes me think of mystery and imagination; attributes that can also aid in healing.

Today we hear a different vision of Ezekiel’s, an extravagant vision of a river (Ezekiel 47:1-12). It is a river of strength and mystery and healing. Wherever the river goes, it brings life to creatures that swarm and swim and soar.  It makes stagnant water fresh. It provides food and sustenance. It is lined with trees, trees whose leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, trees whose leaves are for healing. River of life. Leaves for healing

We also hear today from the very beginning of Luke’s gospel. Now, we would not know anything about St. Luke if he had not been a writer as well as a physician. Icons of Luke show him holding a book, symbolizing his writing. And some show him writing an icon, because in some traditions, he is considered an artist as well.

Luke’s gospel account begins with the evangelist’s explanation for why he is writing at all. Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account, he begins, an account of Jesus, the Word and the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation. I too decided after investigating everything carefully from the very first to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.

Luke’s gospel is indeed a well investigated, orderly account. And… an account full of poetry and strength and perseverance and energy. Full of mystery and imagination and so many stories of the love and healing power of Jesus. This gospel is a place of love and healing and order.

Which leads me to the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai and his poem “The Place Where we are Right”

From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.

The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.

When I first encountered this poem, I was caught by the very first line. I am someone who likes to be right. This poem calls me up short, reminding me that claiming my rightness can be a place of death rather than life, a place where curiosity has no room.

As members of council, we are tasked with bringing order to many, many things. Yet, I suspect that if we, as members of council, one of us, any of us, some of us, all of us…if we start from a place where we know we are right, we risk trampling the life and vision that is trying to grow in our church.

Yehuda goes on:

But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plow.

If you want anything new to grow, you have to disturb some dirt. And doubts and loves can disturb quite a bit.

So I will be bold and declare that doubts and loves are gifts we need on this Council.

Doubts and loves. Strength, perseverance, energy. Mystery and imagination. All gifts that Executive Council can use. And all gifts that I am sure are present in this room, gifts that I have already seen at work. Gifts of St. Luke poured out on us today for healing, for vision, for proclaiming the love of God.

I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus. For you, most excellent Theophilus. Theophilus—lover of God. For you, the reader. For you, the hearer. For you, the scholar. For you, the wonderer and wanderer. For you, the curious and doubtful. For you, the certain and the lost. For you who crave encouragement. For you who love poetry. For you who seek knowledge. For you who need healing.

For you. Most excellent lovers of God



This sermon was preached at the October 2022 meeting of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church