‘You are God’s beloved,’ preaches the Rev. Julie Wilson-Black

MARY LEE TALBOT
Staff Writer

The Rev. Julie Wilson-Black studied preaching with the Rev. Frank A. Thomas, Ph.D. “He told us that whatever we had to say in our sermon could be said in 10 minutes. Bishop Sutton must believe that what I have to say today is so important it can be said in five minutes,” Wilson-Black said.

Wilson-Black delivered the homily at the 9:15 a.m. Friday ecumenical communion service in the Hall of Philosophy. The Scripture reading was Mark 1:1–12.

She cited author C. S. Lewis, who wrote, “The process of living seems to consist of coming to realize truths so ancient and simple that, if stated, they sound like barren platitudes. They cannot sound otherwise to those who have not had the relevant experience; that is why there is no teaching of such truths possible, and every generation starts from scratch.”

Wilson-Black said, “To call someone a child of God sounds like a platitude. We know it up here (pointing to her head) and with luck, we know it here (pointing to her heart). But until we have had the relevant experience of being beloved, it remains a platitude.”

She asked the congregation to turn to a neighbor and tell the neighbor, “You are God’s beloved.” She said, “That is easier to say than ‘I am God’s beloved.’ But Jesus had to know that (he was God’s beloved) by experience, so it was not a platitude.”

Jesus had come to the Jordan River to be baptized by his cousin John. “For all his life, he heard things like ‘you are just a Judean hillbilly,’ from the Roman soldiers, or ‘you are just a carpenter,’ from the educated people in his town or ‘you are just Mary’s boy,’ from the local rabbis,” Wilson-Black said.

But when the skies opened, Jesus heard a voice that said, “You are my beloved son.” 

Wilson-Black continued, “Jesus had the experience of the truth of his belovedness. He would repeat it to himself in his 40 days in the wilderness and for the rest of his life. When people asked, ‘can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ or ‘by what authority do you do this?’ or ‘why did you waste that ointment?’ he would remember, ‘you are my beloved.’”

That promise was and is unshakeable. Wilson-Black told the congregation, “When people say ‘you don’t measure up,’ or ‘what you do doesn’t matter,’ or ‘who do you think you are?’ remember ‘I am God’s beloved.’  God will tear open the heavens to give you the relevant experience of being beloved. Then you can join Jesus in the world-changing work he is doing. That is where we begin.”

The Rev. Rachel Stuart, pastor of Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church and an associate in the Department of Religion, presided. The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, senior pastor for Chautauqua, celebrated communion. The Scripture reader was the Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray, chaplain at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) house. Andrea Foertsch, host of the Christian Science House, led the morning prayers. The prelude was “Metamorphosis” by Philip Glass, played by Interim Director for Sacred Music Sonya Subbayya Sutton on the Steinway piano. Movements of the Trio Sonata in E Minor by G.F. Telemann for oboe, violin and piano with musicians Rebecca Scarnati, Maura Giannini and Willie LaFavor was played during the service and as the postlude. The Motet Choir, under the direction of Owen Reyda, organ scholar and accompanied by Sutton, sang settings of “Gift of Finest Wheat” and “Taste and See,” and led the congregation in songs from around the world. Chaplains from the denominational houses who served communion included the Rev. Steve Schaik, Presbyterian House chaplain and the former 19th Air Force Chief of Chaplains; the Rev. Mark Hurst, ordained elder in the United Methodist Church; Wilson-Black, pastor of Fairlington Presbyterian Church; and the Rev. Ken Hughes, interim pastor at Orchard Park Presbyterian Church. Each chaplain was assisted by a member of the congregation. Support for this week’s services and preaching was provided by The Rev. Leonard J. Ebel Chaplaincy.