WHEN AMERICA SNEEZES

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON OCTOBER 12^th, 2008

Isaiah 25: 9 "This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

It has been said that when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. That's certainly been true this past week. As our US economy continues to get worse the rest of the world has followed suit - from Britain to Russia.

It's a sobering reality when the economy of Iceland makes the front page of our newspapers! And do you realize that, thanks to the government bail-out of AIG, American tax-payers now underwrite Manchester United Football Club for $100 million dollars?

A question unasked perhaps was: Where is God in all this? We haven't heard any reference to him. We have heard about greed - and the Bible has a lot to say about that. All of us feeling a bit helpless, if not a little afraid - another Biblical theme.

We mere mortals can only hope things will correct themselves soon - as they did in 1987 and 1931. At least for those of us who love travel, the dollar has gone up......but three months too late for your Rector!

Not that the dollar going up is much consolation for families facing foreclosure on their homes, or those depending on pensions and retirement funds, including those of us not yet retired. It's all a bit fearful and a mess.

Surprisingly, today's readings can give us food for thought. In Isaiah 25 we actually find a description of Wall St! "Thou hast made the city a heap - the fortified city a ruin!"

Of course Isaiah was not talking about Wall St, he was talking about the defeat of Israel's enemies and the people's return to the Law and the Covenant. His message is one of hope: "Thou hast been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm".

Faith in God will not pay your mortgage - but such faith can get you through the hard times, as many of us know. When things are taken away from us and all seems lost, the only one left to look to is God himself.

Yet, it is so hard for us to hand it all over to God isn't it? We think we can solve it ourselves. We think it is capably in our hands. Last week's events show how wrong that sentiment can be.

Isaiah continues his message of hope by portraying heaven as a banquet - a feast where death is swallowed up for ever. And it finishes with a great flourish. If we wait on God, he will surely come, and we will rejoice in his salvation.

Today's Gospel (Matt 22: 1-14) is also a commentary on recent events. At the end of the King's wedding feast we have the bizarre story of the man invited to the wedding - but thrown out because he was not wearing the right clothes. Thrown into the other darkness, "where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" - an image of hell.

This seems terribly unfair. Like all the other guests this man was called into the wedding feast from the streets. He's hardly going to be wearing a dinner suit! As with last week's parable, we can not take this too literally, but must look at the inner meaning.

The man's problem was not about what he was wearing - but that he was not prepared. He came straight into the wedding without thinking or preparing. And surely the lesson of the last two weeks is that America was not prepared. And neither were we.

And even though Europe could see what was happening, they didn't prepare for it either!

Jesus tells us to be prepared. It's a lesson we all need to learn - and not just about the economy.

How many times during a day do we have decisions to make and we don't consult God? Not even pause and think: "God what would you have me do", or "Lord guide me in this decision I have to make."

No - we make decisions and do things without reference to him, who loves us and knows our needs. Why? Because we think we are in control. Or at least want to be. Last week showed the result of that thinking.

Of course you can't just suddenly start handing things over to God in desperation - it has to be a growing process. For Christians it starts with our spiritual life and our daily prayers. That is where we start handing things over to God. Not just asking God what we want, but asking him to guide us, to make us better Christians.

One of the reasons why the Eucharist is such a wonderful experience and a real spiritual inspiration is because through an hour of worship we move from our own concerns

· Through our own prayer requests

· Through reflection and confession

· Through listening and reflecting on God's word

· Through Holy Communion

To a sense of the mystery of God and how great and wonderful he is. And how infinitely dependent we should be on him, the one who loves and cares for us.

I want to say how much easier it is here in this church - to feel this gradual growth in an awareness of the Eucharist - because of our liturgy. Because even the way we celebarte the Rite 1 Mass has us always looking towards God. In many parishes that is not possible - the Eucharist is like a community meal, like a weekly catching up of the news.

But even in this parish - where the worship is so inspiring and focuses us on Jesus - we go home, turn on to the Chargers, or to the World Series, and we are back to where we started!

Preparing is the message today. The parable of the King's wedding feast is not just a parable of the kingdom of God, that Jesus came to usher in - but is also a parable of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is the wedding feast of the King's son. Indeed the Church is the Bride of Christ and this is our wedding banquet.

So let us prepare spiritually and practically for Mass. Pray with intention the night before. Read the lessons beforehand. Come five minutes early.

If we live this way spiritually and prepare like this, then the words of St. Paul at the beginning and end of today's Epistle (Phil 4: 4-13) will be true for us.

"Rejoice in the Lord always".................................."I can do all things in him that strengthens me".

And in the tough times God will be with us, and we will be able to say with Isaiah:

"This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation".