July 14, 2002

July 14, 2002
In nomine...
I remember a day when I was home and I broke something of my mother’s.
To be quite honest, I don’t remember what it was anymore, but it was something that was very important to her.
I remember she was a bit upset, and I remember yelling
“WELL, I’M ONLY HUMAN-”


-- Only human. It sounds so negative.
But, Jesus, Jesus was fully God, and fully human
– and Jesus was – is, perfect.
We are told to strive to become “more fully human”
so why do we use this gift to describe something bad? - Something weak?

Only human, only makes it sound as if it’s something to be admonished
– but it’s not!
We are not only human, but wonderfully human!
We’re hopefully, irrevocably, unforgettably, undeniably human,
and what a blessing our humanity is!

Today’s gospel compares us to seeds;
seeds that were randomly thrust upon the earth.
These seeds had no choice in where they grew-
where they landed was where they were forced to live - - or perish.

As was our Sunday School theme this year, in God’s Garden
we must grow where we are planted.
But, I propose that where we land is not necessarily where we must stay planted,
AND that our plots can, and most likely will, change many times

Everyone has a different journey,
a different path that leads them to God.
Some paths have more sharp turns than others, and some seem to do others are rather straight- but are filled with bumps,
some are obvious, others more subtle,
but all of them are right and true and eventually lead to the same place.

If someone had told a nine-year old Alicia Graham
that she would be standing in an Episcopal Church,
a place filled with people who would become a second family to her,
giving the sermon,
I would never, in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) have believed them.
I was a little Jewish girl anxiously awaiting the four years till my Bat Mitzvah. Look where my path had led me,
and I’m only seventeen!
I can only imagine where I’ll end up in 20 – 40 – or even 80 years!
Some paths are very different.
I have some friends who are atheists,
and I find nothing wrong with that as they are also seventeen,
and if only they knew where their paths might lead them.

That’s what’s so great about being human!
We have experiences, journeys, and decisions to make.
We experience highs, lows and stumbles
on our way to becoming more fully human!

So--- I guess the question is,
what does it mean to be fully human?
The answer – brace for the punch line—
I have no idea, or, at least, I don’t think I do.


I have a secret to tell you. I have a neighbor who suffers from Alzheimers.
She was widowed a little over a year ago by a wonderful man to whom she had been married for many years.
Her sister, an elderly nun has since moved in with her and relatives visit fairly often, even though they live somewhat far away.
My neighbor is very proper and very kind.
Directly after her husband’s death I wanted to go next door and ask her if she needed help with anything…anything at all.
But, well, I have a confession to make: I didn’t…and still haven’t. I really mean to, but, I’m nervous- okay, scared. Why… because I’m human, remember those bumps in the road I mentioned…this would be one of them. Regardless, I know that helping her, or at least offering assistance is something I need to do, something weighing down on me, – it’s something that’s blocking me on my path to becoming more fully human.
We all have things that we know we need to do, some big, some small: things that lead us to becoming more wonderfully and powerfully and delightfully human, what St. Paul described as the measure of the fullness of Christ. If we let God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who dwells in each of us, whether we know it or not, lead us, we’ll all eventually find ourselves together at a great merge leading to one road, God’s road, and the discovery of our fuller humanity.