Paraphrase of the Epistle reading:
Christ is our peace.  He has broken down the barriers that divide us from one another.  The peace Christ offers unites us and Him into one body.  Once we are united to Him, none of us are strangers or foreigners, but all have a home [and are at home] with the saints in the household of God.

Introduction
Do you see the great gift God has offered us?  He promises to end all divisions and make us members of his household.  One cannot help but be struck by how many of us feel like strangers in our own homes and in our communities.  Some of us even feel as though we do not quite fit in or belong here in this parish.  I was surprised to learn that even a few of our most devoted and active members – indeed many of the leaders of this parish past and present – feel like outsiders.  I know the history of this parish, so I understand the source of these divisions.  But these walls are only real because we strengthen them and hide behind them.  Perhaps we hide behind them because we dread contact with one another.  Regardless, to the extent this is true [i.e. that we hide behind our walls], we are divided and there is no love within us.  But God is love and there are no divisions in Him.  If we are to be Christian people and if this is to be a Christian parish, there can be no divisions between us. 

So the only question that remains; the only question that has any meaning; the question which, once answered changes everything ... is the one you answered before your baptism;  “Have you united yourself to Christ?”  “Have you united yourself to Christ?” “Have you united yourself to Christ?”  Many of you may not remember answering this question - you were Baptized as infants and your sponsors answered it for you.  I think it is time that all of us revisit this question and our response to it.  I say this because there are many people who, when they are honest with themselves, say things like; “I did, and nothing happened.”  “I did, but I still have no joy.”  “I did, but I am still alone.”  “I did, but, I am still hungry for more.”  Or “I did, but I am still tired and cold.”  How is this possible?  How can the Baptized Christian not experience the things that God has promised?  Did God (or your priests) sell you a pig in a poke?  Or is there something else going on?

[Story of the (almost) Atkins Diet.  Intention is not even enough.  Truth matters more than opinion about that Truth.

The parable of the servants (one yes, then no; the other no, then yes).  Christ tells us; “Let your Yes be Yes and your No be No.”  It is not enough to say “Yes” – you have to live “Yes” (just as not enough to get married; you have to LIVE married).]

[If you want to enjoy the many blessings God has offered to those who follow Him, then]  You must live a life completely dedicated to love; completely dedicated to charity; and completely dedicated to serving others.  And this is possible only by dedicating yourself to Jesus Christ.  Through Him all can be brought into peaceful union.  Without Him, without His love, the divisions of this fallen world [automatically] replicate themselves in your hearts and in your communities.  Without Him, without His love, you have no defense against sin;  without Him and without His love, You will end up feeling alone even in the midst of family and friends, you will end up feeling hungry while sitting at the greatest banquet table, and you will end up feeling cold despite the fire that burns before you.  God does not want you to be cold.  He does not want you to be hungry.  He does not want you to live and die alone.

So how do we actually live a life of love? How do we break down these divisions between us?  What exactly do we need to do to experience the joy that God has promised us?

1)Put your feet squarely on the rock that is Jesus Christ and commit yourself to Love. It is through Christ that sin is destroyed.  It is through Christ that we are able to love others as our self.  His soft touch cures our loneliness; His Body and Blood satisfy our insatiable hunger; and His warm embrace removes every trace of frost from our hearts.

We think of love as something we have (like cars or jobs), but love is not a noun that can be possessed; it is a verb that must be lived.  [Trinity].  Ground yourself in this love by immersing yourself in a relationship with the source of Love. You cannot be love on your own; open yourself up to God – His love is perfect.  It will sustain you; it will teach you.  It will allow you to share this love with others. 

2)Find Peace and Self Control.  Stop chasing you tail.  Stop reacting to every stiumus the world throws your way.  Stop embracing all the temptations that attempt to pull you away from Christ.  This requires that you develop self-control.  How?  Daily prayer, fasting, reading of scripture and good books (and other media), sacrificial giving.  Sacraments.  Make your prayer corner and your home a place of peace.  All those old-fashioned things that your grandparents did?  Do those things.   You cannot skip this step.  If you do not have peace, if you have not control over yourself, if you cannot resist the temptations that lead to pride, greed, lust, envy, impulsiveness, anger, and judgmentalism (this is the list of great sins/temptations from our Prayer Book), then how can you bring peace to others?  Skipping this step is like trying to run a marathon without bothering to train, like going to an audition without having prepared, and like trying to lose weight without bothering to go on a diet or exercise: it leads to frustration and failure.

3)Share the best of yourself with those around you (i.e. spread this love to others). If you have done the first three things, then this one will come naturally.  No matter what the physical transaction is or what words are being spoken, make sure that the real thing being communicated is your love for the person in front of you.  This can be hard.  You do not get to chose the people God puts before you.  The devil will try to tempt you to react to them in pride, lust, envy, anger, and judgmentalism; He will try to tempt you away from spending even a moment sharing your life with them through laziness or impulsiveness.  But if you have developed self control, if you have found peace, then you will be able to resist these temptations and share love.   A good place to develop this skill is to pray for people you know by name every morning at your prayer corner.  Not only is prayer effective, it is good practice because there are fewer distractions and all temptations that come are more obvious.

4)Repeat the process.  When you find yourself running on empty, when you have given all that you can possibly give (and this will happen, especially if we rely on our own hearts as the source of the love we share); recharge yourself by starting the process over again.  Remember that God is the unending source of love – when you live in Him, you have access to this source.  It will reinvigorate you and be the very thing that you share with others.

Conclusion: The Growth of Communion
These four steps are the way for each of you to find the joy that God intends for you.  And the beauty is that when we do it, not only do we find peace: a community of peace and joy grows around us.  This is fruit of the Christian life: a community (a Blessed Communion) without division, united in love, devoted to Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, growing eternally into perfect union with one another and with God.  In such a community, there are no strangers or foreigners – all are members of God’s household.  This is what “Church” is, and St. Michael’s is meant to enjoy it in its fullness.
May God strengthen us as we commit ourselves to this goal.