Sermon on March 15, 2026
“Remember”
By: The Rev. Debbie Hawkins
The language of the New Testament and particularly of the gospel of John at times feels like a physical assault and leave us wondering why we are here. We heard some of that in the story Margaret proclaimed to us today. The exact reasons the writer had for using ‘the Jews’ or ‘the Judeans’ as the name of those who worked against Jesus are complicated and not completely understood. It is confusing. It is as obvious to us as it would have been to the earliest congregations that Jesus and his first disciples were all Jews themselves, although most were not Judeans. It is painful to hear especially given the centuries of antisemitism such language has spawned that continues to this day. This gospel is addressed to us, insiders, Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans who are self-proclaimed Christians. I think we are being reminded the enemies of Christ are ourselves. Perhaps, along with everything else this gospel is calling on us to admit our complicity in things done and left undone and consider how we can repent return to the Lord, concerning ourselves less with the speck in our neighbors’ eyes and more with the log in our own.
I was told once that the 3 long, fabulous stories from the gospel of John we heard this week, last week, and the week before were traditionally told to adult converts to Christianity during Lent as they prepared for baptism at the Easter Vigil, were preparing to publicly answer Jesus’ question, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” The stories are rich and full of teachings and one way they can help us is by offering examples of how people ended up here. They offer scenarios for maybe how they ended up finding themselves with these crazy people called Christians, and why they would want to take the life vows of baptism and remain here among these crazy people. The stories can serve the same purpose for those of us who have already taken those vows, or at a very early age had the vows taken for us, and help us remember why we would want to reaffirm those vows and stay here among these crazy people. She went on to add that the stories tell us some of what is expected of us and about the benefits of membership in this group. To that I would add, the stories also tell us of some of the dangers of membership in this group.
So, the stories.
Nicodemus. That was two weeks ago. Nicodemus was a man of standing in the community and it was not the done thing to speak to highly of, or even to listen to, that radical, roving preacher and teacher called Jesus of Nazareth. Nicodemus was strangely attracted to what he had to say. He wanted to learn more but he had to be kind of quiet about it. He wouldn’t want to be caught associating with Jesus or, maybe, it was be associated with at least some of those people who hung out with Jesus. There was the fear of being mocked or canceled by people he, Nicodemus, did want to be seen with, so, he crept out at night, in the dark, when it was far less likely he would be seen to have a conversation with Jesus. We didn’t read about it two weeks ago, but if you have paid attention to the rest of the story you know that after the crucifixion he joined with Joseph of Arimathea in publicly asking for the body of Jesus so he could receive a decent burial. By that point he was not the same man as we had first met. An encounter with Jesus had changed who he understood himself to be and what was important to him.
Then there was the Samaritan woman at the well. There was no searching for Jesus in her story, at least not by her. She was minding her own business, going about her day when suddenly out of nowhere Jesus just shows up and before she knows it, she, who had always kind of kept herself apart from people found herself telling people she knew, and had carefully avoided, all about what Jesus had told her. And they listened to her. Then they went and searched for and talked to Jesus and then went back and told to her about what they had experienced. Jesus showed up and things were not the same for her at all.
Today, again, we hear the story of someone who was minding his own business and Jesus showed up and turned his life upside down. He went from being defined by his community as a manifestation, physical proof, of someone’s sin to discovering he was a manifestation of the holy works of God. At first, he wasn’t quite sure what had happened to him, how he came to see himself in this truer way. It took him a while to figure it out. While that was happening the people around him were pulling away. People had listened to the Samaritan woman, but the ‘man who had been blind?’ they backed away from him. Even his parents withdrew and said, “yeah, he is our son, but we don’t want to have anything to do with what he has become.” He didn’t fit in anymore. Everyone wanted the ‘old version’ of the ‘man who had been born blind.’ They didn’t like the one who could now see. While he was still confused and unsure they drove him out. Jesus found him again and things became a bit clearer. I think he was happy with his ability to perceive things he couldn’t see before but I doubt it completely eased the ongoing pain of his rejection by those who knew him.
These are stories of coming to faith, coming to Christ. Some people go seeking. Others are, out of the blue, metaphorically hit over the head. Some hesitate to admit their faith, others burn with enthusiasm from the outset, while others wander around dumbfounded for a quite a while before coming to terms with their experience. In all cases the people involved were changed in ways they had not anticipated and often in ways others found objectionable. Do any of them ring true in your life? In the words of Godly Play wondering: Who are you in the stories? Are any of the stories about you? When we find ourselves in these stories they help us remember why we are here. Perhaps you notice the story that is about you and who you are in the story may be the same year after year but often a new year means a different story ringing true. We are not the same as when we were here last time. And the dangers or troubles the stories warn about? Are they true for us, as well? Most of the time they are small but sometimes they can be pretty big and we can wonder if this life of discipleship is worth what comes with it, and yet, and yet … here we are.
Thomas Merton wrote about this transformation and he had a lovely phrase to describe the decision it can bring us to. I heard the phrase in a James Finely podcast about mystics (James Finley, “Turning to the Mystics, Thomas Merton – session 3”). Merton wasn’t referencing scripture stores, he was talking about ordinary things like seeing “a flock of birds descending, or reading a child a good night story” but, like finding yourself in a gospel story, a time, he said, “when I realized I was granted a taste of a mystery without which I know my life will be forever incomplete, and I will not break faith with my awakened heart.”
Isn’t that a lovely phrase: I will not break faith with my awakened heart. It is like joining our yes to Mary’s eternal yes. Why do you follow Christ? Because I remember who I was, what happened, and who I am now and “I will not break faith with my awakened heart.” It doesn’t matter what others think, or how I may have to do something I have never done before, or find myself puzzled and confused and way beyond where I feel comfortable. I remember and I will not break faith with my awakened heart. There is a challenge and a warning in that for us. The world, and our very selves, will confront us with that challenge over and over. To the extent we are living this life there will be troubles – good troubles, most of them. Our task is to remember.
Jesus asks us, ritually in baptism and whenever we renew our baptismal covenant, but also daily, hourly sometimes, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” When you hear that question being asked of you, pause for a moment and remember your story, how you got here and why you keep coming back.
May all of us remember and be given the grace we need to not break faith but rather to return and plunge into the deep waters and continually rise from the dead as children of light.
[1] Phil Hooper, “Ash/Dust, Ash Wednesday,” Sermons That Work, February 18, 2026. https://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermon/ash-dust-ash-wednesday-february-18-2026.
[2] Genesis 2:7
[3] Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, Book Two: The Later Masters (New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1947), pp. 249-50.
[4] Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons (Orlando, FL: Wanton Gospeller Press, 2015), pp. 89-90
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