August 6, 2023, Having the Last Word, Matthew 17:1-13 – Mtr. Kathryn Boswell

saintphilipsnorwood ♦ August 6, 2023 ♦ Leave a comment

Most of you have probably heard that Bishop Dan Herzog, Eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Albany, died this past Friday, August 4^th. It was an enormous loss for many people in the Diocese: there were so many people who were confirmed by Bp. Dan, so many people who were fed and taught by him when he was still Fr. Dan, so many people to whom Dan was an example and a good friend. And there was no one who celebrated the Eucharist quite like Bp. Dan; that was always a moving experience. For all of us, Bp. Dan’s vision and faith shaped our Diocese and our parishes in so many ways.

In his last days, Bp. Dan sent out a message for us all, through Fr. Darius Mojallali, who was by his side, along with Dan’s wife, Carol. Knowing that his death was near, Bp. Dan had a word for the people in his heart, the people whose lives God had put under his care for so many years.

“Please pray for me and for God’s mercy upon me and pray that the Lord calls me home. Bishops, priests, deacons, and laypeople – I love you, and beg you to love one another. Thank you for your mercies and kindnesses. I ask you to love one another. Pray that God have mercy on me, a sinner. Mother of God pray for me. Amen.”

I think it was a real gift from God that Dan had time and clarity to share that word with us, because we all know that’s not always the case. So many people are taken from us suddenly, without time for reflection or preparation. So I hold this word as a very precious thing, and something we should take to heart. It was a similar situation for Peter, as we read from his second letter to the churches this morning. Peter, who was a Bishop, too, like Dan Herzog, was in prison. And he knew, by a revelation from God – and probably by the reality of his situation as well – that he was getting close to the time of his death. And in that moment, like Bp. Dan, Peter wanted to say to the people he loved and shepherded, what was uppermost in his heart and mind.

We have to go back a few verses to really understand what Peter wants to say here. Beginning at verse 5, he writes:

“Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Then he writes what we read today:

“I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.”

Peter is urgently reminding his spiritual children to hold fast to their calling and election in Jesus Christ. Peter, their Bishop, urgently wants to impress on them is the absolute necessity of living out the reality of their faith in Jesus Christ, of not holding the gift of their salvation lightly or cheaply, of not failing to practice what they were taught to believe. And the reason that was such an urgent message becomes clear a few verses after today’s reading.

Peter knew that false teachers would be cropping up in the church, seeking to lead astray those who had so recently come to faith. And he was right – in its early days – and in later years as well – the church was beset with false teachers. There were those who tried to impose legal requirements for salvation over and above the free grace of faith in Jesus. Peter had already had run-ins with them. There were those who would deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, and there who those who would deny the humanity of Jesus Christ. Continuing on into chapter 2, Peter goes on at great length, describing the bad ends to which these false teachers will come.

But in the passage we read today, Peter reminds his people of his credentials, his claim for authority, and that was this story of his life-changing experience on the mountaintop, along with John and James. “It wasn’t some kind of made-up story,” he affirmed, “we saw the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ with our own eyes on that day. We heard the voice of the Almighty God with our own ears. We were given the prophetic word of God to be a light in the darkness, not by some human effort or invention, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.”

That is Peter’s stamp of authority; that is what confirms the word he sends out to the church in this final letter. That moment on the mountain was the defining moment for Peter, remembered all those years later, thirty years or more. And the witness of his life had confirmed it. For all his weaknesses and fairly spectacular failures, Peter’s faith and character had been established and transformed by this experience, and they stood the test of time.

And this, I believe, is how we need to hear this word from Bp. Dan. His message to us isn’t Scripture, obviously. It’s not prophecy in the biblical sense of the word. But these are the last words of a man, fully human and flawed like all men, but a man of deep faith, speaking from his heart to us, who have long been his spiritual children.

Bp. Peter left a word to strengthen the young church for the perils it was about to face. In loving care for our Diocese, Bp. Dan spoke to the heart of our brokenness and need for healing. He spoke to our most urgent need right now, as we seek God’s will for a new Bishop, as we continue to find a way forward after a long season of division and hurt. “I love you,” he told us, “and beg you to love one another. Thank you for your mercies and kindness.” And again, he said, “I ask you to love one another.”

It’s such a simple word that we might be tempted to take it lightly. But these are the very words of our Lord, on the night before his own death, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another,” Jesus said. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” And he said, “By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Love is the center of God’s will for us. It’s the hinge upon which all the law and the prophets hang. Love was the motivation for Christ’s incarnation. It is the unconquerable force that overcame the power of death and the grave. And love, Bp. Dan reminded us in his last word to us, love is the one thing necessary in our Diocese right now. May we have ears to hear, and hearts to obey. +