Cathedral of Hope

I am preaching at the Cathedral of Hope on Sunday. It is the first time since November of 2009. It was the 22^nd anniversary of my becoming the pastor of that church. On that Sunday, though, I was no longer the pastor. We had made a wonderfully gentle transition from my long pastorate to my successor’s. Jo Hudson was the pastor of the church that day, and I was the dean, which meant I worked on the justice and national ministry of the church.

Since I’m returning to CoH this Sunday, I pulled up that sermon from 2009. After all those years of preaching in a pulpit I designed, in a building for which I was legally the “general contractor,” I had no idea that the sermon I delivered on that day would be my last.

That is how things go in life. My dear friend the architect Philip Johnson worked until he was almost 99, and then, on January 24, as he was retiring for the night in his renowned Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, he said to his attendant/nurse, “I think I will die tonight,” and he did. On the other hand, most of us never know the hour or the day that will be our last. In the best of times, we live happy, joyous lives until, at last, our body simply stops and our soul moves on.

In my last sermon, I was not as prescient as Philip. Neither I nor the church had any idea it would be our last time together. As I looked back at the sermon, there were several things I wish I had said. Mostly I wish I’d had a chance to say goodbye and tell all those people how wonderful they are and how much I love them. I didn’t know. Most of us don’t.

After September 11 many people have made it a practice to say “I love you,” before ending a call with a loved one. That is sweet, but that is really all it is. Oh, it is better than leaving a call with bitterness and never talking to the person again, but it is not enough. This week, I realized that, although I never got to say “Goodbye, I love you,” if our relationship was genuine those words aren’t required. If we have treated one another badly in this life then saying those words won’t fix it.

by Michael Piazza
Center for Progressive Renewal