Accounting For the Hope That Is In You

I Peter 3:13-22

Sermon preached by Dr. Mark Smutny

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Pasadena Presbyterian Church

I Peter 3:13-22 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? ¹⁴But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, ¹⁵but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; ¹⁶yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. ²¹And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” This compact, compelling command from the First Letter of Peter seems so perfect for this day. Originally, it was an instruction for persecuted Christians who were abused, reviled and hated, yet possessed of hope. It promised that despite what they were enduring, God, in the fullness of time, would redeem the times and bring about God’s purposes for them. This is what hope is: the confidence that God, in the fullness of time, redeems all things.“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.”

Today, I want to recognize and consecrate the monumental decision reached by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to remove the categorical prohibition blocking the ordination of gay and lesbian Presbyterians as elders, deacons and ministers of the Word and Sacrament. I want to recognize the hope that sustained our brothers and sisters and their supporters for decades leading up to this turning point in our common history. As I shared with you a few Sundays ago, and as you have heard reported broadly in a variety of news media, on Tuesday, May 10, an historic vote was cast by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area that provided the final vote needed to ratify a change to the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The change, known as Amendment 10-A, was set in motion by action of the General Assembly that met this past summer. It allows for—but does not mandate—the ordination of gay and lesbian Presbyterians. A majority of presbyteries was required to adopt the change and that threshold was reached on May 10^th. The change officially takes effect on July 10^th. As of today, 99 presbyteries have voted in favor of the change, 66 against, 4 have abstained. To illustrate how broadly the change has taken root across our church, all the presbyteries in Nebraska and all the presbyteries in Alabama have voted for the change.

For thirty-three years the Presbyterian Church (USA) has explicitly sought to exclude openly gay and lesbian church members from serving as elders, deacons, or ministers. After a third of a century, the church has changed its mind.

Some do not welcome this change. Many others rejoice at the news. I am among them, having worked for years to open ordination to all whom God calls, including gay and lesbian Presbyterians. Precisely because we are not of one mind, I am especially pleased with the new wording:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life. The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation. Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

The language carefully leaves the decision about whom to ordain with local governing bodies, presbyteries and sessions, on a case-by-case basis, as they examine candidates for office. The wording says nothing about a candidate’s sexual orientation or relationships, unlike previous constitutional language that attempted to close the door to ordination to the church’s gay and lesbian members—even if they had served faithfully for many years in other capacities with all the gifts and graces with which they were blessed.

I do not expect major changes in our life at PPC. We already welcome all who seek to serve Christ in our midst, without regard to one’s sexual identity. But the new wording has provoked reaction across the church. Some churches and their members rejoice that the long dark night of exclusion is over and a new day of more light has dawned. In these few weeks since 10-A’s passage tears of relief have been spilled and prayers of gratitude have been uttered. For those who have been waiting and working for this change for decades, it must be true, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” (Martin Luther King, Jr. paraphrasing Theodore Parker).

At the same time, many churches are in anguish, maybe dozens, perhaps over a hundred, now threaten to leave our denomination. In our own presbytery, the sessions of two conservative churches have acted to join San Diego Presbytery, supposedly to align themselves with theologically like-minded allies—an act currently not permitted under the PC(USA) constitution.

The implications of this decision will continue to unfold for months and years ahead. I encourage us to listen respectfully to one another, particularly those with whom we disagree.

Today, I feel a need to reminisce, to honor the courage of those who have made this new day possible, and to commemorate the journey that has led us to this new day.

To be caught up in such a monumental cause of societal and denominational significance is both a story of personal journey and collective endeavor made up of the stories of thousands of persons. I begin with a confession, a confession of my own homophobia and my own cowardice. My own homophobia was first confronted in college when I was told I was a bigot. The claim hit right between the eyes. I was convicted. I’ll leave out the details only to say my journey of discovery began. To say that I am a coward is to recognize the contrast between my own wavering soul and the incredible courage of those who have given their lives for so long in a dogged, unrelenting determination to be ordained from a position of incredible vulnerability and relative powerlessness. In contrast, I have only dipped my toe in the cause from a place of power and privilege. I have never had to fight to secure my own ordination. On the contrary, my path to ordination and its ongoing confirmation has always been handed to me on a silver platter. I’m male, heterosexual, married, Euro-American and blessed with all the marks of privilege. No one has ever told me I couldn’t be ordained because of some category I fell into.

Those of us who come from privilege can never fully fathom the incredible perseverance and hope of those who have not given up through this long journey of hell as they have sought ordination in the face of those who told them they were evil, immoral and un-biblical. “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” I have asked myself again and again, “Who are these people who long to serve as ministers of the Word and Sacrament, as deacons and as elders, yet who are categorically told ‘no’? Why endure the vile, hateful and disgusting things people say when the goal is ordination--to be set apart to do such beautiful, sensitive things—to sit with people in hospitals and hold their hand while they are scared or about to die, to break bread and hold up a cup at communion, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and his love, to moderate a Session meeting, to organize a stewardship campaign, to rescue dying churches, to get keep people from getting hurt in church fights, to weep on the inside when another beloved church member dies, yet to get up in front of everyone and lead the people of God in the resurrection faith, to administer the business affairs of the church, to prepare communion elements or to clerk a meeting? Is it worth that much?” To see people work so hard, to work for thirty plus years to bring about this change with their enduring, persevering, gentle spirits, leaves me in awe. To love the church and its ministries so much leaves me humbled. I wonder, “If I had to endure as much hatred and persecution and rejection would I have persisted, or walked away?”

“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” It’s that hope imbedded in so many people through the years that time and time again has filled me with awe. To see people in the face of withering criticism so compelled by the Spirit to want to serve Jesus and the church and to keep at it! It is an amazing thing!

I saw this phenomenon on a massive scale in 1996 at the 208^th General Assembly meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 1996 Assembly was notable for sending out to the presbyteries Amendment B, the provision later adopted by a majority of the presbyteries that became known as G.60106b in The Book of Order, the so-called “fidelity and chastity” provision that excluded gays and lesbians from ordained office. After the vote was taken by a majority of the Assembly’s commissioners, a massive demonstration broke out with over two thousand Presbyterians participating, commissioners and observers alike. We began circling the convention center floor singing, “We are marching in the light of God, we are marching in the light of God,” a song adopted from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. The demonstration went on for nearly half-an-hour. Many people were weeping. Others were furious that G.A. Moderator John Buchanan, Pastor of Fourth Church Chicago, permitted such a demonstration at all. What was obvious to any observer was the church was profoundly and passionately divided and the movement to build a more inclusive church would not go away.

So many significant moments have occurred through the years both here at PPC and in our denomination that it is possible to name but a few. I’ll highlight a few where PPC’s life has intersected with the larger cause.

In 1993, the Session established a Special Task Force representative of multiple points of view that led to a12-week educational program that would sensitize the congregation to gay and lesbian issues.

San Gabriel Presbytery refused to elect PPC’s own daughter Katie Morrison as a Theological Student Advisory Delegate to the General Assembly, crushing her innocence and that of her parents, Steve and Meg Morrison.

In 2000, PPC’s Session adopted our current Vision Statement with its explicit voice of inclusiveness, including sexual identity.

In 2001, PPC became a “Covenant Network Congregation” and also hosted the annual conference of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, where Co-Pastor Dr. Barbara Anderson preached the sermon, “Add another Leaf to the Table.”

Also in 2001, The Reverend Dr. Jack Rogers was elected as Moderator of the 213^th General Assembly, first made possible by electing Jack as minister commissioner from San Gabriel Presbytery by a margin of two votes—a real squeaker!

In 2006, Jack Rogers published his book, Jesus, The Bible and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths and Heal the Church.

In 2008, the PPC Session authorized the raising of funds to distribute a copy of Dr. Rogers’ book to every General Assembly commissioner. A fundraiser was hosted for friends and members of PPC as well as funds secured from allies across the country. A mailing party was held at PPC to send the books to General Assembly commissioners.

Paul Rolf Jensen, a member of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Newport Beach, filed a disciplinary charge using procedures in the Presbyterian Rules of Discipline against PPC member Steve Morrison, for reading scripture at the ordination service of his daughter Katie Morrison. The matter never made it to trial.

On a hot and humid July Sunday, The Reverend Dr. Barbara Anderson preached a sermon on Sodom and Gomorrah, arguing the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah has nothing to do with homosexuality but was the sin of not offering hospitality to strangers. After the service, Head Usher Heraclio Rosas discovered the sanctuary roof had cracked and started to slide. Repairs to the roof cost the church $300,000, one of the most costly sermons ever preached.

For years, PPC’s Nominating Committee has nominated elders and deacons based not on sexual identity but gifts for ministry.

There are many, many more stories of personal triumph and transformation, of injustice borne and endured with hope. There are stories held in confidence and stories that have seen the shining light of day. There are the stories of those who are no longer with us who longed to see this day. Especially for them, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.”

I am humbled by this hope. Now, for a moment, we can rest, thanking God for those whose courage and perseverance has led us to this place. For tomorrow the work will begin anew, to build a church and world, free from fear, rooted in compassion, grounded in dignity for all people. Thanks be to God. Amen.