Bishop Chane told a powerful story yesterday morning during his sermon for the fall confirmation service at Washington National Cathedral.  It starts out sounding like a story of heroism, and winds up being a parable of the saints at work.  Bishop Chane was among 20 bishops who gathered at a retreat center in Spain this past summer to talk about the future life of the Anglican Communion.  This group of bishops not only was drawn from across the globe but also spanned the spectrum of theological perspectives in today’s church.  Their days were framed by prayer services and bible study—and Bishop Chane’s prayer partner was the 72-year-old bishop from Sudan, Bishop Bullen Dolli, who at one point shared the story of an ordinary day in his life as Sudan’s bishop.  One afternoon when Bishop Bullen Dolli had gathered with 200 of his clergy under the tin roof of his open-walled “cathedral,” the Janjawid surrounded them, armed with AK47 assault rifles.  The leader of this particular group of rebel soldiers, the youngest of whom was 11, demanded that they come outside and kneel in the dust.  The bishop led his clergy outside, as demanded.  This 15-year-old rebel commander said that he, himself, was going to kill each of them, but would first let them have a cigarette.  Bishop Bullen Dolli said, we don’t want a cigarette.  The 15 year old then said that he would offer them each a blindfold—Bishop Bullen Dolli said, we do not need blindfolds, for we choose to die with our eyes open like men.  And then the Bishop told the 15-year-old leader that he would like an opportunity to lead his clergy in prayer.  Bishop Bullen Dolli prayed that his clergy would not be afraid, that each of them would be greeted by the one who made them and that God would forgive this young 15 year old and make God’s love known to him and change his heart!  Then he was quiet, ready now to die. But the 15 year old put down his assault weapon, as did the other children…and this child asked the Bishop, how do I get what you have?  I need that in my life!  This boy is now in pre-seminary education; and when he is old enough, he will be an Episcopal priest in Sudan.  He has a transformed heart, an unclenched fist, and is ready himself to be a saint, giving his whole self to the God who can teach us all to love like that.

Each of us reaches a “tipping point” – where all of who we are stands poised to tip forward into faithfulness, or back into denial of the needs of the world around us.  As a parish we are creeping up on such a “tipping point” – when about 25% of our active membership worships faithfully, volunteers on a regular basis in the parish and holds him or herself accountable as a pledging member to sustain the parish finances.  

It is not an automatic thing, though, which way the “tipping” goes.  If we tip forward, the slower-starters among us will begin to come along and our life together will flourish 100-fold!  If we tip back, then St. Thomas’ can be that safe place for like-minded people like most congregations in the United States.  Neither direction of the “tipping” is automatic; which ever way we go, it will be the sum total of many ordinary and un-heroic choices, by means of which we either grasp our destiny as God’s saints, or we will sit back down on the bench and let others take the field while we choose to remain the spectators.  Sainthood, you see, is a bit like cooking ham and eggs for breakfast – while both are necessary for the meal--the chicken, we could say, has made a contribution, while the pig, has made a commitment!