The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is an Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania that is centered on the worship of God, the ministry of all baptized persons, and the call to be agents of Christ’s love in the world.

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Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
8000 St. Martin’s Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215.247.7466

The Rev. W. Jarrett Kerbel

Full of Light

All Saints’ Day
November 6, 2011

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel

The story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids caused me fits early in my ministry.  I could not get past questions of fairness and sharing.
Why would the well-prepared bridesmaids choose not to share their extra oil with the unprepared bridesmaids?  Why should the unprepared be left out and miss the bridegroom and the 7 days of feasting ahead?
Sharing and fairness were at the heart of the liberal religion that I was taught as a child in the Episcopal Church.
One day, I was agonizing over this passage during a training session for catechists in the Diocese of Chicago.  I was asking my questions about fairness and sharing.  An older lay-catechist turned to me and said, “But Jarrett, this is oil you cannot share.  You cannot do the spiritual work of your fellow Christian for them.”  “You cannot do the spiritual work of your fellow Christian for them.”
It causes anxiety to admit it, but…
We can’t do the spiritual walk for our children.
We can’t do the spiritual walk for our grandchildren or Godchildren.
We can’t do the spiritual walk for our beloved friends, or partners or husbands and wives.
It is not about fairness, everyone receives the lamp and the oil in our birth as children of God, in these bodies God made in the divine image and called good.  That lamp and that light are restored in our baptism and filled and clarified through prayer, communion, fellowship, service, prayer, study, and all the spiritual practices.
All we can do is tend our lamps and trust that will be enough for our companions in faith.  My parents encouraged me to be a person of faith, not by doing it for me, but by the honest, vulnerable witness of their own struggles, growth, and transformation over time.  When we tend to our life of faith, we become a beacon of encouragement for others.  We redefine what is possible for humans.
Each faith community needs people who are especially full of light, who are tending their lamps, and storing up oil through all the practices that build the soul.  We call these people who are full of light Saints.  We surround ourselves with the Saints today to give ourselves encouragement, to redefine what is possible and desirable for humans in a world that wants to sell us short.  We surround ourselves with saints because the path is long and hard and we will need companions to see us through.
As I walked in the neighborhood yesterday, I saw the golden leaves of a maple tree blazing with sunlight late in the day.  The tree was glowing, luminous, full of light.  My heart was reminded of God flooding all creation with light and God enlightening the world again by sending his Son – the light of the world – into the darkness of our illusions.
For some reason we lose sight of the light in ourselves and in the world.  We need companionship to help us find the way.  So I encourage you to name your saints today.  All those people who showed you God’s light in their lives.  Let us end with some silence to welcome those Saints and give thanks for their witness.  Feel free to name your saints out loud if you feel so called.  (Pause)  Amen.