It is good to be with you at St. Anne’s this morning. It has been a while since I was with you on a Sunday morning. I am grateful for your ministry here in Richmond and that it reaches far beyond these four walls. I am grateful to your Rector, Marnie, and for her ministry in this parish, the deanery, archdeaconry, diocese, province, national church and Anglican Communion. She has many gifts that she shares in a variety of ways and I am so appreciative of that. It is good to be with all of you.
Recently I read an interview with Anthony Hopkins in The New York Times. Yes, that Anthony Hopkins, who has been in all sorts of films: The Elephant Man, The Silence of the Lambs, Howards End, The Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, Mission Impossible 2, even a narrating voice in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, amongst many others. That Anthony Hopkins. The interview was conducted by David Marchese. But rather than simply a routine interview describing the work of this great actor who really seems to be able to reveal a hidden depth to the characters he plays, the interview seemed to dig into a depth of his own life.
In the discussion, Anthony Hopkins said this, “One night, I was drunk and driving my car in California in a blackout, no clue where I was going, when I realized I could have killed somebody—or myself, which I didn’t care about—and I realized that I was an alcoholic. I came to my senses and said to a friend, ‘I need help.’ It was 11 o’clock precisely—I looked at my watch—and this is the spooky part: Some deep powerful thought or voice spoke to me from inside and said: ‘It’s all over. Now you can start living. And it has all been for a purpose, so don’t forget one moment of it.’
Further into the interview he came back to that epiphany that he had at 11:00 o’clock. A few days later, he said, he was out driving and had a desire to visit a church. He went inside and told a young priest that he had found God. He said that he had discovered a power way beyond his understanding. He said, “Not up there in the clouds but in here. I chose to call it God. I didn’t know what else to call it. Short word, ‘God.’ Easy to spell.”
I appreciated this story about a famous actor, whom some might say had it all: fame, finances, power, one who was held in high regard. But underneath, much else was going on in his life. Maybe the same is true for many of us. What we show the world is not always in alignment with what is going on in our heart, soul and mind. I will let you work that out on your own. But I wonder if you too have heard that voice, felt that presence, heard those words whispered to you, “Now you can start living.” I have heard them on a few occasions.
You see we followers of Jesus recognize that what happened to Anthony Hopkins happens with some regularity. An epiphany, an awakening, an awareness that there is a whole other level or layer or purpose to life that we don’t always turn our attention toward…. despite knowing that this is actually what is at the centre and core of life. And we followers of Jesus know this because Jesus’ words constantly challenge our actions, question our motives, turn our world upside down, name as important things that we often discard as weak or uncomfortable or far different from what is advertised as the goals of this world. This Jesus we follow calls us to live into this uncomfortableness and recognize it as the heart of life. And it causes us to question everything.
You may have noticed this in the words of Jesus in our gospel reading for this day. They were read to us in a certain version of our Bible. Hear some of them again from a version of the Bible known as The Message. Maybe they will offer an epiphany to you too.
You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all.
God’s kingdom is there for the finding.
You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry.
Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.
You’re blessed when the tears flow freely.
Joy comes with the morning.
Jesus said: But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you’ll ever get.
And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.
Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.
There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.
Jesus continued in this version to say: “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously.
“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!”
This is the life to which we are called, and it challenges everything and all things. And this is the annoying part. Just when we want to settle into a comfortable and easy faith, a life centred on ourselves with fewer responsibilities, Jesus’ words will cause us to sit up and wonder about these words: blessed are you when you have lost it all, God’s kingdom, God’s reign is there for the finding. For therein we discover what Anthony Hopkins discovered, or as he phrased it, now you can start living.
This morning eight people are being confirmed. Joshua, Tate, Wesley, Rebecca, Benjamin, Dayna, Claire, and Kiana. Confirmation is about continuing something that has already begun. It is about picking up from one’s baptism, which might have been many years ago or just last week, but picking up from that and confirming that indeed we seek to live into all that was affirmed on that day. That indeed we acknowledge that God’s voice, God’s invitation, God’s hope is known to us. That God is not hidden in the clouds above us but is known within us. That we really want to consider who are the ones who are blessed and how we have signed on to be people who are called to be part of blessing them. It’s a big ask. It’s a tough ask. But we want to step into it more and deepen our listening to that voice. And these eight folks are saying this and doing this. But we are not here to simply applaud them, even if that is appropriate, we are here to support them and consider how we too start living again.
You see Anthony Hopkins describes a moment in his life when all else was cleared from the counter and he could see what was most important, most central, most vital to the heart of life. And that is what we are doing here as well. As we affirm that we are called to respect the dignity of every human being, to love our neighbours, to protect this planet. As we affirm that we have faith in God’s goodness and the invitation to live into that. As we affirm that despite how difficult Jesus’ words are for us to try to live out, we aim like many saints who have gone before us, to put them on our shoulders and carry them with us in all the places we might venture.
And this morning these eight people will hear words of confirmation as we all invite God’s Holy Spirit to strengthen them, empower them and sustain them all the days of their life. These are not just words that will stay inside this church. They will be brought with you, those being confirmed and those of us who support them, brought out to affect how we start each day. And this is important. Because they are central to what it means to be human, in relation to one another and in relation to the One who calls us blessed when we’ve lost it all… because the reign of God is there for the finding. May this be our epiphany, our discovery, the voice we hear this morning amongst us and with us as our lives begin once more.