September 7, 2025: Reverend Brad Hauff

Brad Hauff

Saint John the Baptist

Sunday September 7 2025

The Reverend Brad Hauff

 

 

Some of you know that I served for eight years on the staff of former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the Episcopal Church Center, headquartered in New York. I was the Indigenous Missioner for the church. As an Indigenous tribal person, this was a great honor and I enjoyed it very much. I traveled a lot, all over the country and other parts of the world. I met and worked with a significant number of people from various backgrounds, racial and ethnic groups, and church persuasions. And, I ate at some of the finest restaurants. Too much of the time I’m afraid. By the way, if you like BBQ, Kansas City has the best, in my opinion. If you want to debate me on that, we can talk after the sermon.

One of the things I did while traveling was do presentations and conduct workshops on the Doctrine of Discovery. I did this last year, virtually, with a group of people here at St. John’s. For those of you who don’t know, the Doctrine of Discovery is a series of teachings that originated out of the office of the Pope in the late 15^th and early 16^th centuries, giving direction to European explorers, merchants and military, on journeys overseas to Africa and the Western Hemisphere. Directions to invade the territories, conquer, subjugate, and convert the Indigenous “non-Christian” people in those regions, to enslave the people and to take possession of their lands. The Doctrine of Discovery inspired and gave the church’s blessing to what is  probably the most disastrous series of events in the history of humankind. The result was large scale land theft of an entire hemisphere, the genocide of Indigenous people, and the institution of African slavery. Countless numbers of people, likely many millions, lost their lives in the process. Today, its influence is maintained and seen in the systemic racism that permeates our country and our communities. And the saddest and most difficult part, is that it had its beginnings in the church. The church that also calls upon the world to follow Jesus Christ as Lord.

It is difficult for us to acknowledge this. It’s so contrary to what we’ve been taught, to what we’ve thought and believed, to what Jesus stands for. And it IS. But this is about the church, not Jesus. There’s a difference. A big difference. It’s about fallible human beings. It’s about imperfect people who lose sight of what is right, what is good, and what is the true way of love. It’s about people giving in to greed, selfishness and hate.

As you can imagine, when I do these presentations on the Doctrine of Discovery, I typically receive some strong responses. Shock. Anger. Sadness and grief. An overwhelming desire to do something about it. And then, there are those who reject what is being said. They don’t believe it. They don’t want to hear it. They prefer the traditional American narrative, the one about the Columbus discovery and the goodness of Manifest Destiny. The myths. The legends. The stories that make us feel proud about our national history. They don’t want to let go of it.

In this morning’s Epistle, taken from the Letter to Philemon, Paul writes to Philemon, a slaveholder. The background information for this situation is that one of Philemon’s slaves, a man named Onesimus, escaped his captivity. At some point, Onesimus encountered Paul, who befriended him and nurtured him into faith in Jesus. At that point Onesimus became a Christian. And while Onesimus could have continued on as a traveling companion of Paul, Paul was in a Roman prison at the time, with nowhere to go. So, at some point the decision was made for Onesimus to return to Philemon. But on one condition, one hope, that Paul had. That Philemon would not punish Onesimus, but accept him back, and not as a slave, but as a brother in the faith. Paul writes:

Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

What Paul is asking is that Philemon change his view of Onesimus. That

he let go of the principle that slaves should be obedient to their masters, in favor of a new perspective. One that values forgiveness over retaliation. One that is about love rather than law. One that values relationships over principles.

In our Gospel lesson from Luke, Jesus is traveling with crowds of people following him, and he says to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” And I think it’s important to note that, in the original Greek language that this Gospel was written, the word HATE is MISEO, which can also be understood as “to love less,” or “to regard or esteem as less.” He goes on to say, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple,” and that none of them can become his disciple if they do not give up all their possessions.

To me what Jesus is saying addresses the issue of priorities. What is most important. With regard to relationships, it is our relationship with Jesus, first and foremost. And we must be all in. We must carry our cross, leaving others and other things behind, and be willing to go the complete distance. When we do this, our lives change. They become rearranged. We begin to see things differently. Our world is turned upside down.

What do you value most – possessions or justice? Principles or relationships?

Those who value principles more than relationships put themselves in a position where forgiveness is more difficult to reach, if at all. Right relationships with others are more difficult to achieve, if at all. Sometimes our need, our desire to be “right” about something gets in the way of our being open to the presence and the work of the Spirit.

People who, when confronted by the historical facts regarding the genocide, land theft and enforced assimilation of Indigenous people in America have to make a choice regarding whether or not they value the traditional American narrative or relationships with Indigenous tribal people who are still here. If we choose to maintain the principle of the traditional myth, we will never have a relationship with Indigenous people. At least not one that is based on trust, truth and justice. It will be as if they are only a relic of the past, or that they never existed to begin with.

And folks, with regard to possessions, our relationship with God is the only thing we really have in life. All things are temporary. All other relationships will end at some point. All narratives and principles will reach a point of conclusion. When the end comes for each one of us, all we can and will take with us is our relationship with God. You know the old saying, “You can’t take it with you?” Well, we believe God is eternal. So, our relationship with God is eternal. Yes, we can, and will take it with us when we die. Doesn’t it make sense then, to invest in it now? Invest our very lives in it?

I’d like to close by asking some pertinent questions as we move forward.

What is most important to me?

What am I willing to surrender in favor of someone?

 Am I open to the Way of the Spirit?

Can I see God in ways that I have not seen before?

Can I see myself in ways that I have not seen before?

         May Jesus help us find the answers to these questions, for each one of us.

 

 

10am Service