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Religion as Life and Death Businessby the Rev. Steven YagermanAugust 2008The rites of the church symbolize this, as it is not unusual to go from baptizing an infant, to a funeral with a wedding or two in the mix, frequently within a matter of hours. Once while riding on a subway, obviously on my way to perform a wedding, I glanced at my watch nervously. The person riding next to me began to inquire about the wedding and she eventually asked me, “Is it an important wedding?” I immediately replied, “It is to them!” Weddings, baptisms, funerals, all of these events are so large they are impossible to contain within our personal psyches. We need to seek the wisdom and the rites of the ages to help us place ourselves in the context of the eternal and sacred history. Each of these rites tells us that life is about change, growth and the meaning of our mortality. In school we learn how to acquire and manage information. We learn about the struggles and heroes of society, we learn skills to earn a living and perhaps we learn about the arts. But the deepest aspects of human existence, the meaning of our birth, our death and the ways we change in between, are not learned in the classroom. One reason is because different people have different opinions about these things. But another reason is because these issues are neither science nor art. At the heart of our existence is mystery that can only be approached by faith. By nature religion is concerned with these ultimate questions. Our life itself poses the question. Our religion contains clues and tools to help us approach the mystery. These clues and tools function only for those who are honest about the nature and the depth of the question. Our scriptures, sacraments and liturgies must be used with the greatest degree of respect and reverence. If not, they become academic subjects, like any other. Perhaps a better image is of museum exhibits, to be observed at some remove. Most of us don’t live too close to the question or the mystery too often. But we run into the question, like it or not, every time we encounter change, e.g. births, weddings, deaths. Of course there are smaller events, more subtle yet perceptible to the sensitive, or as Jesus would say, to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Our lives are a journey of constant changes, deaths and rebirths that call for a spirituality to comprehend. Our religion begins at the point of our “ultimate concern.” If we come with the honest question, posed to us by our existence, we will find in our church a sacred toolbox that is so nuanced and profound that it will excite the most passionate commitment to discovery. Jesus exhorted us to seek the Kingdom of God first and that everything else would take care of itself. This summer, I encourage you to make this Kingdom your priority.
Faithfully yours,
The Rev. Steven J. Yagerman
 | The Rev. Steven J. Yagerman Rector
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January 3, 2008
Dear Friends and Parishioners,
I think it was Dorothy Gayle in the Wizard of Oz who uttered in amazement, “Oh my, people come and go so quickly around here.” Even as children we are fascinated with the constant entrances and exits people make in the drama of our lives. Some bring great joy and some bring deep consternation. How do we appropriate and hold people’s images in our minds and how do we let go of them? I think the answers to these questions hold the secrets of our character.
Beyond coming and going, the biblical story is really more a story of coming and going and returning again. It is as if God takes the thread that is our existence and weaves it in and out in a dialectic that becomes the rich tapestry of our own salvation history. Perhaps one could speak of many Advents and Ascensions, or of the progressive story of Christmas followed by Good Friday and subsequently Easter; a holy cycle of being, never static but marked by change and renewal.
It seems that the entire church year is concerned with the sanctifying effects of the coming and going and coming again of the divine into the profane. Advent anticipates and Christmas celebrates the coming of Jesus. Epiphany bespeaks the recognition of the incarnation. Lent concludes with the Holy Week observance of the end of Jesus’ life and Easter celebrates his return from the grave. The Feast of the Ascension commemorates the resurrected Jesus’ departure from the earth and Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. To finish the year, Pentecost ends with the anticipation of the second coming of Christ the King.
So it is with thoughts of going and returning that I address you. As most of you know, I begin a four-month sabbatical beginning next week. Besides thinking about 257 details to divert my attention before my departure, I have also thought about the role of the shaman in various cultures. One of the tasks of the shaman is to separate himself from the community and descend to the realms of the dead or spirit world, in order to attain healing wisdom to bring back to the people. In some ways I think this is an appropriate metaphor for the priest on sabbatical; a holy separation for the health of the community.
In order to be a healing or redemptive presence in the community, the priest, as spiritual leader, needs to step away from the community to commune with and drink deeply from the realm of the spirit. Out of time, out of pocket, out of the quotidian demands of ordinary life, the clergy exercise their consecrated ability to re-explore and re-experience the divine. To the outside observer, it may look self-indulgent. But those who are familiar with the biblical record know that even Jesus frequently ‘went missing’ in order to have time alone, to commune with his God. Abraham expressed his faith by following God’s leading into parts unknown. It is faith that opens our lives to the ever-new experience of God’s transformative leading.
So, yes, I am going. This Sunday, January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, will be my last Sunday until May at All Saints. I have been so encouraged by the responses I have received from many people in and near the congregation. Calls and letters of support and encouragement have come from unexpected places. Sometimes, others see the need before you see it yourself. Other times your actions cause people to think about what is important in their own lives. In any case, things are changing. Already I can feel a difference. As I prepare to leave, I feel there is a renewed spirit in the congregation. In the past few weeks several new people have expressed interest in joining our parish. The faithful have stepped up to take on more responsibility and a sense of our potential feels more and more palpable.
It is with optimism that I hand the parish over to the able leadership of Bishop Richard Grein for these four months. He is a brilliant teacher and a compassionate pastor. He has met with Alexei and Kent and there already seems to be intuitive sense of teamwork and understanding among them. In all the details and serendipity of preparation, it feels like God is preparing both All Saints and me for four months of growth and discovery. We should both expect change and welcome growth. I expect to commune with that Presence that called me to the priesthood and I expect that you will find a deeper appreciation for the joys of being Christ’s body here in this place.
Yes, I am going. But whether I am here or there, I know nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. I hope to see you this Sunday and again upon my return. I expect to discover again that there is no place like home; a home marked by hospitality for the sojourner, support for the seeker, advocacy for the forgotten and transformation for the faithful.
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All Saints Episcopal Church
