1 Kings 17:1-16
Stewardship and All Saints
Elizabeth M. Deibert
If you read your church email, you already know that today is Reformation Sunday, the anniversary of Martin Luther’s protest against the abusive sale of indulgences. He never intended to split the Church, only meant to challenge the abuse of power in the church. And here we are, almost 500 years later, still divided but growing in Christian unity. Sadly, we still have power-crazed prosperity-Gospel preachers (usually mega-church Protestants and tv evangelists) taking advantage of people by promising spiritual blessings for monetary giving, remarkably similar to the abuse of indulgences.
Today is also all Hallows Eve, so we will give thanks for all the saints who are near and dear to us in our prayers later in the service. But that’s not all. It is our day of dedication, as we give thanks to God for our new ministry center. And tonight on Halloween, it will be obvious that we live in the land of plenty, as most children in this country will go home with enough candy tonight to last until Christmas, when their stockings will be filled with enough candy to last until Valentine’s Day when they will receive enough chocolate to last until Easter, when the candy eggs and bunnies will not be completely consumed until the end of school parties, and then there’s the incredibly long wait from early June until end of October again.
We have lived in the land of plenty for so long, it is difficult for us to relate to today’s story from the first Book of Kings. This is a story of drought and famine, of a prophet, a widow, and her son and the remarkable trust in God, which allows them to live on one cup of flour and a little oil. And though we cannot relate to the specific details of such a story of hunger, the concepts of scarcity and plenty, we can appreciate.
And as we view this beautiful field of wheat, I just wish there were some way we could calm ourselves down at these moments of holiday excess. We will spend 1 billion on adult costumes and close to that on kids’ costumes. We’ll spend twice that much on Halloween candy – nearly 2 billion. We’ll spend 1.6 billion on Halloween decorations and 0.2 billion on pet costumes. That’s close to six billion dollars on the holiday, an average of 66 dollars per person. Our country’s spending on Halloween is greater than the gross domestic product of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now sure, it is okay to have a little fun, but when our fun and games for one holiday costs more than the entire GDP of a country, then maybe something is wrong.
What do we do to change it? We can talk about it. We adjust our ways to make sure we are not building the glitz of this holiday. Don’t outdo your neighbors, underdo than your neighbors. We can offer an alternative activity like collecting cans for the hungry, and as we approach our other excessive holiday, Christmas, we look into Alternative Gifts, as Betty will describe later in our service. But it is not just the holiday excess, as I said last week, there is the daily 3-dollar latte, or lunch out, which seems like nothing, but if purchased daily, costs you more than $1000/year. Buy your own latte machine, make a sandwich and save some money. If you stopped to count your discretionary spending, you’d be shocked at what you waste.
But for now, hear the story of Elijah and the Widow and the Boy. Hear how in deep trust in God, scarcity becomes plenty enough to get by.
1 Kings 17:1-16
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." 2 The word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 "Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD; he went and lived by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi. 7 But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you."
10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink." 11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." 12 But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." 13 Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth."
15 She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.
So Elijah, the prophet was sent by the Lord to Ahab, the not so faithful King, to tell him that there would be drought and famine in the land because the people were caught up in deadly sins – greed among them. For three years and six months there would be no rain. The fields would be dry, grain would not grow, fruit-trees would not bear fruit, the cattle and the people would have little water and little food and there would be great distress. Elijah spoke his message and then hid as the Lord told him to do by the brook Cherith, which was near the Jordan.
There is a brook there now running in a deep wild gorge which is often thought of as Elijah's hiding-place. There he drank of the brook, and each morning and evening the ravens brought him bread and meat, out of character for ravens. When after a time the brook dried up the Lord sent Elijah across the country to a little town called Zarephath on the seashore. And there he finds the widow and her son and he asks for bread. And he does so without saying please I might add. How is the widow to know that he is a man of God? And that he is going to save her son from death later in the story, the part we did not read from chapter 17. So this saintly widow says, I have barely enough to keep my son and myself alive, and you want me to share with you? But Elijah is confident in this word from the Lord, confident enough to insist on making her do something that seems very risky. I don’t think I’d have that much confidence to demand from the poor, but maybe I would if I had ever been as hungry as Elijah.
Though we are far better off than the widow of Zarephath and her son with one cup of flour and a little bit of olive oil, we feel the crunch of our day. We’re no where close to being without the basics, but we think jobs and money are scarce. We sometimes feel in this depressed economy that we will not have enough. Our 401Ks are now 201Ks. Everywhere we turn jobs are being lost. Homes worth two-thirds what we paid for them. Uncertainty, uncertainty, uncertainty. But through the prophet Elijah, we hear the message, that what you have will be enough. You will not run short if you share, as God calls you to share. God promises to provide.
You see what we learn from those who have really experienced scarcity? We learn to trust God. Those who have little have to trust God on a daily basis. Give us this day our daily bread. Those who have much tend to secure themselves with the wealth they have. But the Bible teaches us over and over again that our real security is in the God we trust.
So it is widows, the poorest people of Bible times, who teach us the most. The widow who gave her last two coins is a saint because she trusted God to provide her with enough to live on, so she gave away her last mite. The widow of Zarephath whose has a son to feed, who is worried about hunger, starvation, but she shares. She too is a saint.
And Jesus might also tell us that Jody Richards is a saint. When Jody saw a homeless man begging outside a downtown McDonald's, he bought the man a burger. There's nothing unusual about that, except that Richards is homeless, too, and the dollar menu burger was an big chunk of the $9.50 he had in his savings in his pocket. In a 2007 survey of consumer expenditure in the US, we see that the poorest fifth of America's households contributed an average of 4.3 percent of their incomes to charitable organizations while the richest fifth gave at less than half that rate, 2.1 percent. What's more, the generosity of the poor declines less in hard times than the generosity of richer givers does.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/05/19/68456/americas-poor-are-its-most-generous.html#ixzz13tHeS4RE
It is an issue of trusting God to provide. But how do you trust God to provide if you have never really had to trust God to provide? How do you trust, if you have always been able to take care of yourself? If you have always had plenty. Trust is like anything else – being good at it takes practice. Well, I’m guessing that if Elijah or Jesus were here, they would say you have give away enough to feel nervous to practice your trust. That’s what the widow of Zarephath did. She shared enough to be nervous that she and her son would not make it. I bet many of you are anxious too. But it is my job as your spiritual leader to reassure you that God will provide everything you need.
So I will be bold like Elijah and challenge you to be generous to the point of nervousness. If your gift makes you anxious, you will have an opportunity to grow in your trust in God and to develop better savings habits and spending control. If your gift is logical and makes good sense on a budgetary page, then you may not have dared enough.
God is sovereign and will indeed take care of you. I’m not promising more answers to your prayers or more rewards in heaven or on earth, but I am saying that God is trustworthy to give you what you need and to liberate you from excessive consumerism. We’ve seen in the last two years the fruit of a decade or two of rampant materialism. We’ve seen what happens when we put our trust in Wall Street. There is a better way, church. The power, freedom, and joy of the future is not in the hands of those who believe in scarcity and try to control and monopolize the world‘s resources; it is in the hands of those who trust in God‘s abundance and give generously, knowing that there is always plenty enough for all who are not grasping. As John Wesley reminded us, “Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.” If we do that, there will be plenty.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Responsive Stewardship
Luke 19:1-10
Series on Peace’s Goals
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Something happened to me at the soccer fields this week-end. I could not stop thinking about it when I got home, so I re-wrote parts of this sermon.
Here’s what happened: There were people and cars everywhere, as there are most Saturdays, many Sundays, and evenings during the week. I walked out onto the fields – multiple fields. As I looked around for Rebecca’s team, there were saw hoards of parents with their tents, large umbrellas, coolers, and fold up chairs. And it hit me. I’ve come to worship. I have joined the throngs of people who are worshiping organized athletics for children. I reached the sidelines of Rebecca’s game and listened to the parents calling out to their kids, “approach the ball,” “be more aggressive,” “defense” and all kinds of other instructions. There was an intensity in the parents’ voices like this was a life and death moment for these 12 and 13 year old girls. I heard parents of 8 and 9 year old boys behind me shouting out to their team with the same kind significance. This was not just recreation. This was life. This mattered.
Now I have been going to soccer fields for a long time – fifteen years to be exact – since our eldest was seven. I’ve been a soccer mom, a basketball mom, a volleyball mom, and a piano mom for that many years. There have been a few seasons of softball, track, ballet, gymnastics, football, band, orchestra, vocal ensemble and chorus too, and in England, there was korfball, netball and cricket. I was a three-sport athlete myself, so athletics have been a large part of my life.
What I have witnessed in recent years is the growing focus of parents on their children’s athletic ability from earlier and earlier ages, often to the neglect of their spiritual lives. And today, more than ever before, I realized that this all about stewardship. This is the stewardship of time, energy, and money -- all family resources usually in short supply. I’m starting to wonder about our sports-crazed culture.
What are we teaching our children about stewardship when we will toss hundreds and thousands of dollars into a sporting activities and spend week-ends in motels chasing after the games of 12 year-olds, just so they will be prepared to play high school sports. We might not intend to say that it is more crucial than faith, but our actions speak louder than words.
Now I love relaxing in front of a NFL game on Sunday afternoon, and I follow baseball this time of year and in March I’ll be watching basketball games. But when we pay an average professional quarterback nearly 2 million a year, while we pay an average college professor less than 1/20th of that and a pediatric surgeon gets about 1/5 of that, something is wrong.
What are we teaching our children when the golf courses and club houses and shopping centers are larger and more beautiful than our churches? They see what our culture really values. And this value statement is more dramatic in a place like Lakewood Ranch, where nearly everything is new and reflects our modern value system.
What are we teaching our children when we spend more in annual fees to keep the common areas of our neighborhoods perfectly landscaped than we spend on feeding hungry children in the world? There is a dis-connect between what we say we value and what we really value. We’re demonstrating the tight grip our culture has on us, people of faith.
We come today to our final of five goals and it is perhaps the hardest one to address – that of stewardship – how we manage our resources – our time, our talent, and our treasure. An honest examination of stewardship shows us what we treasure and whether we have really been transformed by our relationship with the Lord to be responsive, to be grateful and generous, as Zacchaeus was.
Luke 19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." 9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Our story about Zacchaeus is one of a remarkable conversion or transformation. Zacchaeus was not only rich, but he had been dishonest, like many tax collectors in his day. He took more money than was owed the Roman government and kept the extra for himself. But Zacchaeus’ life was transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus noticed him and said, “I’m coming to your house.” Apparently, he not only entered his home but also his heart, and Zacchaeus and his household were saved.
What would people say about you if Jesus walked into this room and picked you out of the crowd and said, “I’m going to your house for dinner.” Would they wonder why you had been chosen? Why would Jesus pick any of us? Because Jesus Christ is full of mercy and grace. And so he does pick us. He is saying to you today, just as he said to Zacchaeus, “Let me stay at your place.” He’s saying, “Let me into every room in your house and every place in your heart, soul, and mind.” And when we let Jesus into every area of our life, then we see our need to be saved from sin in multiple areas of our lives. One of the most difficult areas of life to give to the Lord is our management of time, talent, and treasure. Jesus had a lot to say about this – much more than any other subject.
This story raises questions about the meaning of salvation. Sometimes we think that salvation is simply uttering a prayer, “Lord I trust you. Come into my life.” But those words are big. Saying “I trust you. Come into my life” means that my life is no longer MY life.” Salvation is a process of giving my life over to God. Zacchaeus had a dramatic conversion. He gave half of his wealth away immediately. But we are slower in giving our all. Perhaps Jesus would say of us, “Salvation is slowly coming to this house, instead of salvation has come.” We are still learning to trust the Lord.
And some of you are thinking, “Well, Zacchaeus was rich and I’m not.” I don’t think Jesus is asking those who live month by month, scraping by, to give up half of what they own, but we are called to tithe ten dollars for every hundred. And few of us actually do. But all of us can take steps in the right direction. And the comfortably well-off can do more, like Zacchaeus.
But it is more than the decision you make when that annual promise card comes in the mail from church during Stewardship season. It is more than the weekly moment of the offering plate coming by. No, the real decision moments are many and daily. Will you eat out tonight or eat leftovers? Do you go shopping for new clothes or keep wearing ones that are a little out of style? How many pairs of shoes do you really need? Do you buy whole foods or processed foods? Do you pay for drinks at restaurants or drink water? Do you combine trips in the car or are you impulsive, going here and there without thought of gas expense? Do you stay at the discounted hotels when you travel? Do you buy low or mid-range cosmetics and toiletries? How many services do you pay for, which you could handle yourself? All these little decisions ultimately control the larger ones. Until you have courage enough adjust all the little decisions, there’s no way you can change the big ones.
Here’s a big decision which you could make today and change the future of Peace Presbyterian: Will you tithe to the Lord in your last will and testament? Can you do in death what you have been too anxious to do in life?
If you are a responsive steward of the gifts of God, then you are giving generously and sacrificially. If it does not squeeze your own spending, then it is not generous giving, no matter how much it is. Trust in Jesus Christ means trusting your whole life to the Lord. It means being so full of gratitude that when Jesus knocks on your door, you are eager to open it and change your lifestyle. Luke’s gospel will not let us off the hook. There is story after story about how crucial it is for us to be faithful, humble stewards of all God has given us.
Peace has four teams related to the goal: Responsive Stewardship. All our other goals – worship, relationships, discipleship, and outreach have one or two teams related. But Responsive Stewardship has four, telling us this is challenging and broad-ranging ministry.
First, we have a Stewardship team encouraging you to give your time, talent, and money to the Lord through Peace. We have an Admin team to effectively manage the human and financial resources of the church. There’s a Building Vision Team touring other churches, interviewing architects, and planning very deliberately for the beautiful, missional church we will build in three years. And as of this week, we have formed a Property Team to care for, to steward this ministry center of ours.
So here’s where my imagination went after sitting at that soccer game: Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see the Peace family standing around cheering for the youth of our church to be strong and generous stewards of God’s amazing grace? Imagine us pulling out our lawn chairs to watch the kids engage in mission or to study their Bibles. What if we were encouraging them in faith with the same kind of intensity I saw at the soccer field today? “Come on, trust God. Practice your faith. Commit your life to Christ. Grow in the fruits of the Spirit. Be humble and full of gratitude. Share what you’ve been given.”
We’d be counter-cultural for sure, but maybe we’d discover the real joy and peace of salvation, like Zacchaeus did.
Series on Peace’s Goals
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Something happened to me at the soccer fields this week-end. I could not stop thinking about it when I got home, so I re-wrote parts of this sermon.
Here’s what happened: There were people and cars everywhere, as there are most Saturdays, many Sundays, and evenings during the week. I walked out onto the fields – multiple fields. As I looked around for Rebecca’s team, there were saw hoards of parents with their tents, large umbrellas, coolers, and fold up chairs. And it hit me. I’ve come to worship. I have joined the throngs of people who are worshiping organized athletics for children. I reached the sidelines of Rebecca’s game and listened to the parents calling out to their kids, “approach the ball,” “be more aggressive,” “defense” and all kinds of other instructions. There was an intensity in the parents’ voices like this was a life and death moment for these 12 and 13 year old girls. I heard parents of 8 and 9 year old boys behind me shouting out to their team with the same kind significance. This was not just recreation. This was life. This mattered.
Now I have been going to soccer fields for a long time – fifteen years to be exact – since our eldest was seven. I’ve been a soccer mom, a basketball mom, a volleyball mom, and a piano mom for that many years. There have been a few seasons of softball, track, ballet, gymnastics, football, band, orchestra, vocal ensemble and chorus too, and in England, there was korfball, netball and cricket. I was a three-sport athlete myself, so athletics have been a large part of my life.
What I have witnessed in recent years is the growing focus of parents on their children’s athletic ability from earlier and earlier ages, often to the neglect of their spiritual lives. And today, more than ever before, I realized that this all about stewardship. This is the stewardship of time, energy, and money -- all family resources usually in short supply. I’m starting to wonder about our sports-crazed culture.
What are we teaching our children about stewardship when we will toss hundreds and thousands of dollars into a sporting activities and spend week-ends in motels chasing after the games of 12 year-olds, just so they will be prepared to play high school sports. We might not intend to say that it is more crucial than faith, but our actions speak louder than words.
Now I love relaxing in front of a NFL game on Sunday afternoon, and I follow baseball this time of year and in March I’ll be watching basketball games. But when we pay an average professional quarterback nearly 2 million a year, while we pay an average college professor less than 1/20th of that and a pediatric surgeon gets about 1/5 of that, something is wrong.
What are we teaching our children when the golf courses and club houses and shopping centers are larger and more beautiful than our churches? They see what our culture really values. And this value statement is more dramatic in a place like Lakewood Ranch, where nearly everything is new and reflects our modern value system.
What are we teaching our children when we spend more in annual fees to keep the common areas of our neighborhoods perfectly landscaped than we spend on feeding hungry children in the world? There is a dis-connect between what we say we value and what we really value. We’re demonstrating the tight grip our culture has on us, people of faith.
We come today to our final of five goals and it is perhaps the hardest one to address – that of stewardship – how we manage our resources – our time, our talent, and our treasure. An honest examination of stewardship shows us what we treasure and whether we have really been transformed by our relationship with the Lord to be responsive, to be grateful and generous, as Zacchaeus was.
Luke 19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.
7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." 9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
Our story about Zacchaeus is one of a remarkable conversion or transformation. Zacchaeus was not only rich, but he had been dishonest, like many tax collectors in his day. He took more money than was owed the Roman government and kept the extra for himself. But Zacchaeus’ life was transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. Jesus noticed him and said, “I’m coming to your house.” Apparently, he not only entered his home but also his heart, and Zacchaeus and his household were saved.
What would people say about you if Jesus walked into this room and picked you out of the crowd and said, “I’m going to your house for dinner.” Would they wonder why you had been chosen? Why would Jesus pick any of us? Because Jesus Christ is full of mercy and grace. And so he does pick us. He is saying to you today, just as he said to Zacchaeus, “Let me stay at your place.” He’s saying, “Let me into every room in your house and every place in your heart, soul, and mind.” And when we let Jesus into every area of our life, then we see our need to be saved from sin in multiple areas of our lives. One of the most difficult areas of life to give to the Lord is our management of time, talent, and treasure. Jesus had a lot to say about this – much more than any other subject.
This story raises questions about the meaning of salvation. Sometimes we think that salvation is simply uttering a prayer, “Lord I trust you. Come into my life.” But those words are big. Saying “I trust you. Come into my life” means that my life is no longer MY life.” Salvation is a process of giving my life over to God. Zacchaeus had a dramatic conversion. He gave half of his wealth away immediately. But we are slower in giving our all. Perhaps Jesus would say of us, “Salvation is slowly coming to this house, instead of salvation has come.” We are still learning to trust the Lord.
And some of you are thinking, “Well, Zacchaeus was rich and I’m not.” I don’t think Jesus is asking those who live month by month, scraping by, to give up half of what they own, but we are called to tithe ten dollars for every hundred. And few of us actually do. But all of us can take steps in the right direction. And the comfortably well-off can do more, like Zacchaeus.
But it is more than the decision you make when that annual promise card comes in the mail from church during Stewardship season. It is more than the weekly moment of the offering plate coming by. No, the real decision moments are many and daily. Will you eat out tonight or eat leftovers? Do you go shopping for new clothes or keep wearing ones that are a little out of style? How many pairs of shoes do you really need? Do you buy whole foods or processed foods? Do you pay for drinks at restaurants or drink water? Do you combine trips in the car or are you impulsive, going here and there without thought of gas expense? Do you stay at the discounted hotels when you travel? Do you buy low or mid-range cosmetics and toiletries? How many services do you pay for, which you could handle yourself? All these little decisions ultimately control the larger ones. Until you have courage enough adjust all the little decisions, there’s no way you can change the big ones.
Here’s a big decision which you could make today and change the future of Peace Presbyterian: Will you tithe to the Lord in your last will and testament? Can you do in death what you have been too anxious to do in life?
If you are a responsive steward of the gifts of God, then you are giving generously and sacrificially. If it does not squeeze your own spending, then it is not generous giving, no matter how much it is. Trust in Jesus Christ means trusting your whole life to the Lord. It means being so full of gratitude that when Jesus knocks on your door, you are eager to open it and change your lifestyle. Luke’s gospel will not let us off the hook. There is story after story about how crucial it is for us to be faithful, humble stewards of all God has given us.
Peace has four teams related to the goal: Responsive Stewardship. All our other goals – worship, relationships, discipleship, and outreach have one or two teams related. But Responsive Stewardship has four, telling us this is challenging and broad-ranging ministry.
First, we have a Stewardship team encouraging you to give your time, talent, and money to the Lord through Peace. We have an Admin team to effectively manage the human and financial resources of the church. There’s a Building Vision Team touring other churches, interviewing architects, and planning very deliberately for the beautiful, missional church we will build in three years. And as of this week, we have formed a Property Team to care for, to steward this ministry center of ours.
So here’s where my imagination went after sitting at that soccer game: Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see the Peace family standing around cheering for the youth of our church to be strong and generous stewards of God’s amazing grace? Imagine us pulling out our lawn chairs to watch the kids engage in mission or to study their Bibles. What if we were encouraging them in faith with the same kind of intensity I saw at the soccer field today? “Come on, trust God. Practice your faith. Commit your life to Christ. Grow in the fruits of the Spirit. Be humble and full of gratitude. Share what you’ve been given.”
We’d be counter-cultural for sure, but maybe we’d discover the real joy and peace of salvation, like Zacchaeus did.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Compassionate Outreach
Luke 4:14-22
Series on Peace’s Goals
Elizabeth M. Deibert
When I came to interview for position of Organizing Pastor of a new church development in the Lakewood Ranch area several years ago, I was handed a video about a local Presbyterian Mission called Beth-El. I had never heard of it, but I was told by the early founders that we would be involved there. And not long after starting worship, Peace began to collect food and school supplies and angel tree gifts for Beth-El families. When I came here, SW Florida was still reeling from Hurricane Charley and then Katrina hit and the nation turned toward New Orleans and the little church called Peace with no more than forty participants, began spending one Saturday each month in Arcadia rebuilding houses. That was after spending several months working on Habitat houses.
But when we went to Mr. McIver’s house in Arcadia, it was big moment for Peace because we knew the repair of that house was all up to us, unlike at Habitat where many others were involved. And we developed an authentic relationship with Mr. McIver and we wanted him to have sturdy walls and windows with glass and a functional kitchen and bathroom. And we wanted him to know that the love of Jesus Christ was what inspired us to help him. We would not ask him a lot of questions about his faith, but we wanted to share ours by word and by deed. A couple of years later, we would begin to make our weekly trips to bag food at Beth-El and our quarterly weeks of hosting homeless children and their parents through Family Promise, serving primarily at Westminster Presbyterian. We would grow in our sensitivity to the endless struggle of poor families to dig out of poverty and find some stability and hope.
Meanwhile we would be inviting our neighbors to make Halloween donations of real food for the hungry. We would host Peace in the Park, a ministry of peacemaking for elementary school children, held once or twice each year. We would deliver postcards of welcome to Christmas and Easter services to our friends and neighbors. We would go to the Main Street Snowman Night to carol and pass out bells with invitations to worship the Prince of Peace. We would post signs around the area, encouraging folks to worship with us and sending them the simple message: Peace to you! We would be trying to live our lives so full of God’s love, joy, and peace, that folks might wonder, what makes them tick. That’s compassionate outreach (it is mission and evangelism) is our subject for today.
Jesus embodied in himself, the perfect humanity. He was the Word who became flesh. He was God in the most supreme act of compassionate outreach in the history of creation. He was the Deed and the Word rolled into one. You can see in the first words of proclamation, that Jesus came to announce good news and be good news for those in need.
Hear the Gospel of Compassionate Outreach in Jesus’ words in Luke:
Luke 4:14-22
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee,
and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,
he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.
He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.
The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 Then he began to say to them,
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed
at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
(NRSV)
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit. First fourteen says it and then Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” That’s the first point is that being filled with Holy Spirit is crucial to having a compassionate heart and a desire to reach out. One weakness of the Presbyterian Church historically is that we named ourselves the “frozen chosen” to describe how uptight we were about the Holy Spirit. Now Holy Spirit does not just mean we are emotionally driven in worship to clap our hands and greet one another affectionately. To be filled with Holy Spirit means to have the fruits of the Spirit in you – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This takes some devotion, some work on your part.
First of all, you need to know what the fruits are…say them after me. Love, joy, peace/ patience, kindness, generosity/ faithfulness gentleness, and self-control. Secondly, you have to spend time building these in your lives. I’ve been sorely lacking in fruits of the spirit lately. Funny enough, when one goes, they all seem to go. I got myself over-worked and over-wrought in the process of this move, and little-by-little bad attitude, impatience and irritability with people starting creeping into my life. Instead of valuing people for their uniqueness, I was dwelling on every little thing in them that bugged me. This includes many of you, I’m sorry to confess. So in the last week, I made a new commitment to pray more and read Benedict’s Rule, as interpreted by Sister Joan Chittister. I am trying to stop criticizing people, stop dwelling on negative thoughts, and be renewed in God’s love for myself and others. I’ll never perfect a life in the Spirit, but I will not stop trying.
Secondly, Jesus’ words captivate people. He is healing people, but also speaking the truth about God, the good news. They are amazed not just at what he does, as we see in so many Gospel narratives, but they are surprised at what he says. He began to teach and was praised by everyone. He knows the Hebrew Scriptures and gives them a new interpretation. If we are to share good news, to teach people about the love of God, we need to be acquainted with the Holy Word, just as much as we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Spirit without Word is dangerous. It is power untamed by truth. Jesus impressed people with what he knew, but what impressed them most was the grace with which he spoke. He was not puffed up with knowledge but used his knowledge to impart the truth of God’s loving mercy. They were so amazed, they asked, isn’t this the carpenter, Joseph’s son? And of course, the irony is yes, he is Joseph’s son, but not just Joseph’s. No more importantly, he is the Son of God.
Thirdly, Jesus shows preference to those who are suffering – good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed. Those words roll right off my lips and into your ears without our taking notice of how remarkable they are. Stop and think for moment about the poor, the captive, the blind and the oppressed people of our day. We cannot ignore the ones Jesus puts as top priority in his ministry.
The mission of the church is to bear witness to God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ. This mission takes a wide variety of forms, including evangelism, work for social justice, and ministries of care. Yet the center is always the same: Jesus Christ. In every case the church extends mercy and forgiveness to the needy in a way that points finally to him. And who are the needy? As our Study Catechism of 1999 states it: The hungry need bread, the homeless need a roof, the oppressed need justice, and the lonely need fellowship. At the same time – on another and deeper level – the hopeless need hope, sinners need forgiveness, and the world needs the gospel. On this level no one is excluded, and all the needy are one. Our mission as the church is to bring hope to a desperate world by declaring God’s undying love – as one beggar tells another where to find bread.” (#49-51)
Mother Teresa started the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. Its aim was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine. (Wikipedia)
I do not need to tell you that this is hard work, messy work, work that few people want to do, but to do this is to be like Jesus – to care for those at the bottom rungs of society. But I would say that it is equally challenging to find creative ways to reach out to people who are repressed by materialism and blinded by worldly success, people who think they have no need of God or certainly no need of an imperfect church.
By the way, when daughter Emily and I were touring Atlanta last Monday night, we saw it. I’ve been looking for a long time and have never seen it before. We saw “The Perfect Church” Yes, that was the name, right across the front face of the church in plain lettering – The Perfect Church. Well, we don’t make such a far-reaching claim about ourselves. We readily acknowledge we are not the perfect church and certainly not the church for everyone, but we are a compassionate church seeking to make God known by growing as disciples, building a community of peace, and caring for the needs of others. Our goal is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ with enthusiasm and with respect for persons of differing views, and to embody the lifestyle of Jesus Christ by compassionate service to those in need.
We are reaching out with compassion because we believe the love of God in Jesus Christ needs to be known by all people. Last night at Family Promise, the matriarchs of both families approached Richard and me to say thanks for the support they have received from Peace. They talked about the stability they and their families feel now, having spent a number of months in the program. They feel confident they can make it now as they move out into apartments and self-sufficiency. For them this is the year of the Lord’s favor, a year when they could have ended up on the streets, living out of cars and under bridges, but instead they have been fed, housed, and given second a chance to complete degrees and find employment. Good news.
As I conclude I want to challenge you with the oft-quoted words, attributed to St Francis, “Preach the Gospel. When necessary, use words.” Sue Seiter mentioned this at our Ideas for Reaching Out gathering two Sundays ago. It is a great quote. Yet, for our day, when many of us are nervous about speaking about our faith, when some folks think that social justice is the only Gospel we need, I will also quote a modern day Christian writer and editor, Mark Galli, who turns the old phrase around, “Preach the gospel—use actions when necessary; use words always.” The Gospel is defined by the One who brought it, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. So it’s always both – word and deed, talking and walking, saying and doing, practicing what you preach. Being the light because you have been given the light. Just like the Chilean miners, brought up from the darkness of despair, so are we. So friends, Arise, your light is come, the Spirit’s call obey. Show forth the glory of your God which shines on you today.
Series on Peace’s Goals
Elizabeth M. Deibert
When I came to interview for position of Organizing Pastor of a new church development in the Lakewood Ranch area several years ago, I was handed a video about a local Presbyterian Mission called Beth-El. I had never heard of it, but I was told by the early founders that we would be involved there. And not long after starting worship, Peace began to collect food and school supplies and angel tree gifts for Beth-El families. When I came here, SW Florida was still reeling from Hurricane Charley and then Katrina hit and the nation turned toward New Orleans and the little church called Peace with no more than forty participants, began spending one Saturday each month in Arcadia rebuilding houses. That was after spending several months working on Habitat houses.
But when we went to Mr. McIver’s house in Arcadia, it was big moment for Peace because we knew the repair of that house was all up to us, unlike at Habitat where many others were involved. And we developed an authentic relationship with Mr. McIver and we wanted him to have sturdy walls and windows with glass and a functional kitchen and bathroom. And we wanted him to know that the love of Jesus Christ was what inspired us to help him. We would not ask him a lot of questions about his faith, but we wanted to share ours by word and by deed. A couple of years later, we would begin to make our weekly trips to bag food at Beth-El and our quarterly weeks of hosting homeless children and their parents through Family Promise, serving primarily at Westminster Presbyterian. We would grow in our sensitivity to the endless struggle of poor families to dig out of poverty and find some stability and hope.
Meanwhile we would be inviting our neighbors to make Halloween donations of real food for the hungry. We would host Peace in the Park, a ministry of peacemaking for elementary school children, held once or twice each year. We would deliver postcards of welcome to Christmas and Easter services to our friends and neighbors. We would go to the Main Street Snowman Night to carol and pass out bells with invitations to worship the Prince of Peace. We would post signs around the area, encouraging folks to worship with us and sending them the simple message: Peace to you! We would be trying to live our lives so full of God’s love, joy, and peace, that folks might wonder, what makes them tick. That’s compassionate outreach (it is mission and evangelism) is our subject for today.
Jesus embodied in himself, the perfect humanity. He was the Word who became flesh. He was God in the most supreme act of compassionate outreach in the history of creation. He was the Deed and the Word rolled into one. You can see in the first words of proclamation, that Jesus came to announce good news and be good news for those in need.
Hear the Gospel of Compassionate Outreach in Jesus’ words in Luke:
Luke 4:14-22
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee,
and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,
he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.
He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.
The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 Then he began to say to them,
"Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed
at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
(NRSV)
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit. First fourteen says it and then Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” That’s the first point is that being filled with Holy Spirit is crucial to having a compassionate heart and a desire to reach out. One weakness of the Presbyterian Church historically is that we named ourselves the “frozen chosen” to describe how uptight we were about the Holy Spirit. Now Holy Spirit does not just mean we are emotionally driven in worship to clap our hands and greet one another affectionately. To be filled with Holy Spirit means to have the fruits of the Spirit in you – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This takes some devotion, some work on your part.
First of all, you need to know what the fruits are…say them after me. Love, joy, peace/ patience, kindness, generosity/ faithfulness gentleness, and self-control. Secondly, you have to spend time building these in your lives. I’ve been sorely lacking in fruits of the spirit lately. Funny enough, when one goes, they all seem to go. I got myself over-worked and over-wrought in the process of this move, and little-by-little bad attitude, impatience and irritability with people starting creeping into my life. Instead of valuing people for their uniqueness, I was dwelling on every little thing in them that bugged me. This includes many of you, I’m sorry to confess. So in the last week, I made a new commitment to pray more and read Benedict’s Rule, as interpreted by Sister Joan Chittister. I am trying to stop criticizing people, stop dwelling on negative thoughts, and be renewed in God’s love for myself and others. I’ll never perfect a life in the Spirit, but I will not stop trying.
Secondly, Jesus’ words captivate people. He is healing people, but also speaking the truth about God, the good news. They are amazed not just at what he does, as we see in so many Gospel narratives, but they are surprised at what he says. He began to teach and was praised by everyone. He knows the Hebrew Scriptures and gives them a new interpretation. If we are to share good news, to teach people about the love of God, we need to be acquainted with the Holy Word, just as much as we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Spirit without Word is dangerous. It is power untamed by truth. Jesus impressed people with what he knew, but what impressed them most was the grace with which he spoke. He was not puffed up with knowledge but used his knowledge to impart the truth of God’s loving mercy. They were so amazed, they asked, isn’t this the carpenter, Joseph’s son? And of course, the irony is yes, he is Joseph’s son, but not just Joseph’s. No more importantly, he is the Son of God.
Thirdly, Jesus shows preference to those who are suffering – good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed. Those words roll right off my lips and into your ears without our taking notice of how remarkable they are. Stop and think for moment about the poor, the captive, the blind and the oppressed people of our day. We cannot ignore the ones Jesus puts as top priority in his ministry.
The mission of the church is to bear witness to God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ. This mission takes a wide variety of forms, including evangelism, work for social justice, and ministries of care. Yet the center is always the same: Jesus Christ. In every case the church extends mercy and forgiveness to the needy in a way that points finally to him. And who are the needy? As our Study Catechism of 1999 states it: The hungry need bread, the homeless need a roof, the oppressed need justice, and the lonely need fellowship. At the same time – on another and deeper level – the hopeless need hope, sinners need forgiveness, and the world needs the gospel. On this level no one is excluded, and all the needy are one. Our mission as the church is to bring hope to a desperate world by declaring God’s undying love – as one beggar tells another where to find bread.” (#49-51)
Mother Teresa started the Missionaries of Charity in 1950. Its aim was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine. (Wikipedia)
I do not need to tell you that this is hard work, messy work, work that few people want to do, but to do this is to be like Jesus – to care for those at the bottom rungs of society. But I would say that it is equally challenging to find creative ways to reach out to people who are repressed by materialism and blinded by worldly success, people who think they have no need of God or certainly no need of an imperfect church.
By the way, when daughter Emily and I were touring Atlanta last Monday night, we saw it. I’ve been looking for a long time and have never seen it before. We saw “The Perfect Church” Yes, that was the name, right across the front face of the church in plain lettering – The Perfect Church. Well, we don’t make such a far-reaching claim about ourselves. We readily acknowledge we are not the perfect church and certainly not the church for everyone, but we are a compassionate church seeking to make God known by growing as disciples, building a community of peace, and caring for the needs of others. Our goal is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ with enthusiasm and with respect for persons of differing views, and to embody the lifestyle of Jesus Christ by compassionate service to those in need.
We are reaching out with compassion because we believe the love of God in Jesus Christ needs to be known by all people. Last night at Family Promise, the matriarchs of both families approached Richard and me to say thanks for the support they have received from Peace. They talked about the stability they and their families feel now, having spent a number of months in the program. They feel confident they can make it now as they move out into apartments and self-sufficiency. For them this is the year of the Lord’s favor, a year when they could have ended up on the streets, living out of cars and under bridges, but instead they have been fed, housed, and given second a chance to complete degrees and find employment. Good news.
As I conclude I want to challenge you with the oft-quoted words, attributed to St Francis, “Preach the Gospel. When necessary, use words.” Sue Seiter mentioned this at our Ideas for Reaching Out gathering two Sundays ago. It is a great quote. Yet, for our day, when many of us are nervous about speaking about our faith, when some folks think that social justice is the only Gospel we need, I will also quote a modern day Christian writer and editor, Mark Galli, who turns the old phrase around, “Preach the gospel—use actions when necessary; use words always.” The Gospel is defined by the One who brought it, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. So it’s always both – word and deed, talking and walking, saying and doing, practicing what you preach. Being the light because you have been given the light. Just like the Chilean miners, brought up from the darkness of despair, so are we. So friends, Arise, your light is come, the Spirit’s call obey. Show forth the glory of your God which shines on you today.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Nurturing Discipleship
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Series on Peace’s Goals
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Think about the seasons or stages of your life. Your earliest childhood. Who was there? Who helped you know by the experience of love that God is good and you are special, created by God for good works? Who protected you and provided for your needs? Did you learn from them that God is the Protector of all protectors and the Provider of all providers?
Think about when you were a little older – maybe an adolescent. Who was there supporting you when life was challenging? Who comforted you when you were discouraged? Did these people help you know that Jesus Christ knows your pain, feels your pain, lifts you up when you are in pain, helps you endure the pains of life?
If you’re old enough to think about your own adulthood, think about those who broadened your perspective, who called you into faithful discipleship, who invited you to grow in faith by questioning, praying and wondering aloud. Who are the people who demonstrated for you real Christian truth and life? Courageous and powerful faith? Did they help you to see the Spirit of the Living God?
See how many people you can name. Write them down if you have pen. There’s some space on the back of your insert page of the bulletin. Write down and give thanks for the grandmothers, the parents, the mentors, the teachers, the pastors, the neighbors, the counselors, the elders or deacons, the friends, or the coaches who showed you the way of Jesus Christ.
Today we’re focused on nurturing discipleship. Let’s parse that. Nurture: to feed and protect, to support and encourage, to foster, bring up, train, educate. Discipleship in Christian theology is a term used to refer to a person’s transformation from some other world view and practice of life into that of Jesus Christ. Therefore a disciple is not simply an accumulator of information or one who merely changes moral behavior in regard to the teachings of Jesus Christ, but one who seeks a fundamental shift toward Jesus Christ in every way. Complete devotion. So nurturing discipleship means we are seeking to foster, encourage, nourish, and lead ourselves and others into complete devotion to the God who came to us in Jesus Christ.
It is that kind of complete devotion to Christ which has gripped the Apostle Paul and it is that kind of devotion which he celebrates and nurtures in Timothy.
Hear the mentor figure, Paul offer words of nurturing discipleship to Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I am grateful to God-- whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—
when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith,
a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice
and now, I am sure, lives in you.
6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you
through the laying on of my hands;
7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,
but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner,
but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God,
9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,
who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher,
12 and for this reason I suffer as I do.
But I am not ashamed,
for I know the one in whom I have put my trust,
and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.
13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you,
with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
If you’ll look at your bulletin, the first four verses, you see the authentic relationship that Paul and Timothy had. Paul calls Timothy his beloved child. He refers to Timothy’s tears and a longing to be together. This is fairly intimate talk for a couple of men. This is the deep kind of friendship that can happen between those who share their faith and their lives, both women and men. I think this kind of sharing is happening with the Brothers of Peace at the Men’s Prayer Breakfast.
Verses five to seven show us that faith is both taught and caught. We can be born into a family of faith, tremendously valuable, but we also need our own significant moments of transformation, as Timothy had when Paul laid hands on him. But those mountaintop experiences of faith need rekindling or the fire burns out over time. I bet the youth who have had transforming experiences at Montreat or Cedarkirk understand that those times when you felt so close to God can begin to fade away, unless you rekindle the fires of your faith intentionally by maintaining a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.
In verses 8-12, we see Paul’s encouragement to Timothy and to us to trust God and be unashamed. Know that God has called you with a holy calling, based on grace not works. So be unafraid to suffer for what you believe, for what is right and true and good because in Christ you have life. Death will not get the last word. Be reassured that God’s power and God’s love are enough for you.
The last two verses challenge us to hold to a standard of sound teaching, learning from those who have gone before us, holding that standard in the faith and love of Christ – which means humbly yet firmly. Yes, you can hold to your beliefs clearly in love toward others. And Paul says, “Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the Holy Spirit living in us.” Protect, guard, nurture that good treasure of Christian faith which has been passed down for 2000 years and now belongs to you.
James Fowler and John Westerhoff have both done pivotal work in taking theories of human development and learning from educational psychologists Erikson and Piaget and re-writing them from a faith perspective.
John Westerhoff’s four stages of faith are the easiest to follow as an outline for our growth in the faith: experienced, affiliative, searching and owned. According to Westerhoff: Faith grows like the rings of a tree, with each ring adding to and changing the tree somewhat, yet building on that which has grown before. Therefore Westerhoff offers a tree analogy and proposes four rings which are involved in the growth process:
EXPERIENCED FAITH —“This is what ‘we’ do. This is how ‘we’ act.” It is a time of imitation…a child prays the Lord’s Prayer without understanding the meaning of all the words. An unchurched adult comes into our worship and just experiences what we do without fully appreciating the depth of it.
AFFILIATIVE FAITH —“This is what ‘we’ believe and do. This is ‘our’ group/church. It is a time of belonging to a group…still a time which centers around the imitation of what the group does, but with a greater awareness and growing understanding of the meanings behind our actions.
SEARCHING FAITH —“Is this what ‘I’ believe?” This is a time of asking questions…not blindly accepting what others have said. This stage of faith is adding the ‘head’ to the ‘heart’ of the earlier states. Sometimes we lose people at this stage of faith and never get them back because they needed room to question. Sometimes people from conservative churches move to more progressive churches at this stage of faith.
OWNED FAITH—“This is what ‘I’ believe.” This stage only comes through the searching stage. This is the strong, personal faith that one witnesses to and one is willing to die for. At this stage of faith, one can allow room for others who differ but can be clear and authentic in one’s own expression of faith.
(Stage of Faith information adapted from Jean Zeittlow at the following site: http://archive.elca.org/socialstatements/education/involved/ziettlow1.html )
My experienced faith was developed by my own parents, my piano teacher Peggy and the church choir director Anne, not to mention my affectionate, some might say doting older siblings. Then in college a professor friend Korrel and a dean office, Bible study leader Elizabeth and my roommate Alice and my music school buddy Margaret, a faithful Moravian Christian. Then in seminary, my new hubby Richard and my dear friend Laura, along with professors Shirley Guthrie, Walter Brueggemann, and Jap Keith. Then in our first church as pastors, there were Carol and Wendy, Rock and Nancy, Frances and Joe, and so many others. And I’ve only mentioned the first 35 years of my life. I thank God for these people and so many more. The have nurtured me in discipleship. They, along with many of you, help me to know more fully the love of Jesus Christ and to follow him with whole-hearted devotion.
Who are your nurturing now? Are you taking time to nurture those young among us whose faith is getting its primary shaping by this church experience? Westerhoff wrote a book, “Will Our Children Have Faith?” Now the question has become “Will Our Faith Have Children?” Not if we don’t make their Christian nurture our top priority. Not if we don’t grow enough in our own faith, that we model a faith they will want to emulate. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you. Rekindle the gift of God within you. God who called you with a holy calling God did not give you a spirit of cowardice, of lukewarm faith, but rather God gave you a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
Series on Peace’s Goals
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Think about the seasons or stages of your life. Your earliest childhood. Who was there? Who helped you know by the experience of love that God is good and you are special, created by God for good works? Who protected you and provided for your needs? Did you learn from them that God is the Protector of all protectors and the Provider of all providers?
Think about when you were a little older – maybe an adolescent. Who was there supporting you when life was challenging? Who comforted you when you were discouraged? Did these people help you know that Jesus Christ knows your pain, feels your pain, lifts you up when you are in pain, helps you endure the pains of life?
If you’re old enough to think about your own adulthood, think about those who broadened your perspective, who called you into faithful discipleship, who invited you to grow in faith by questioning, praying and wondering aloud. Who are the people who demonstrated for you real Christian truth and life? Courageous and powerful faith? Did they help you to see the Spirit of the Living God?
See how many people you can name. Write them down if you have pen. There’s some space on the back of your insert page of the bulletin. Write down and give thanks for the grandmothers, the parents, the mentors, the teachers, the pastors, the neighbors, the counselors, the elders or deacons, the friends, or the coaches who showed you the way of Jesus Christ.
Today we’re focused on nurturing discipleship. Let’s parse that. Nurture: to feed and protect, to support and encourage, to foster, bring up, train, educate. Discipleship in Christian theology is a term used to refer to a person’s transformation from some other world view and practice of life into that of Jesus Christ. Therefore a disciple is not simply an accumulator of information or one who merely changes moral behavior in regard to the teachings of Jesus Christ, but one who seeks a fundamental shift toward Jesus Christ in every way. Complete devotion. So nurturing discipleship means we are seeking to foster, encourage, nourish, and lead ourselves and others into complete devotion to the God who came to us in Jesus Christ.
It is that kind of complete devotion to Christ which has gripped the Apostle Paul and it is that kind of devotion which he celebrates and nurtures in Timothy.
Hear the mentor figure, Paul offer words of nurturing discipleship to Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I am grateful to God-- whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—
when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.
4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith,
a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice
and now, I am sure, lives in you.
6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you
through the laying on of my hands;
7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,
but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner,
but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God,
9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,
who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher,
12 and for this reason I suffer as I do.
But I am not ashamed,
for I know the one in whom I have put my trust,
and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.
13 Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
14 Guard the good treasure entrusted to you,
with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
If you’ll look at your bulletin, the first four verses, you see the authentic relationship that Paul and Timothy had. Paul calls Timothy his beloved child. He refers to Timothy’s tears and a longing to be together. This is fairly intimate talk for a couple of men. This is the deep kind of friendship that can happen between those who share their faith and their lives, both women and men. I think this kind of sharing is happening with the Brothers of Peace at the Men’s Prayer Breakfast.
Verses five to seven show us that faith is both taught and caught. We can be born into a family of faith, tremendously valuable, but we also need our own significant moments of transformation, as Timothy had when Paul laid hands on him. But those mountaintop experiences of faith need rekindling or the fire burns out over time. I bet the youth who have had transforming experiences at Montreat or Cedarkirk understand that those times when you felt so close to God can begin to fade away, unless you rekindle the fires of your faith intentionally by maintaining a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.
In verses 8-12, we see Paul’s encouragement to Timothy and to us to trust God and be unashamed. Know that God has called you with a holy calling, based on grace not works. So be unafraid to suffer for what you believe, for what is right and true and good because in Christ you have life. Death will not get the last word. Be reassured that God’s power and God’s love are enough for you.
The last two verses challenge us to hold to a standard of sound teaching, learning from those who have gone before us, holding that standard in the faith and love of Christ – which means humbly yet firmly. Yes, you can hold to your beliefs clearly in love toward others. And Paul says, “Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the Holy Spirit living in us.” Protect, guard, nurture that good treasure of Christian faith which has been passed down for 2000 years and now belongs to you.
James Fowler and John Westerhoff have both done pivotal work in taking theories of human development and learning from educational psychologists Erikson and Piaget and re-writing them from a faith perspective.
John Westerhoff’s four stages of faith are the easiest to follow as an outline for our growth in the faith: experienced, affiliative, searching and owned. According to Westerhoff: Faith grows like the rings of a tree, with each ring adding to and changing the tree somewhat, yet building on that which has grown before. Therefore Westerhoff offers a tree analogy and proposes four rings which are involved in the growth process:
EXPERIENCED FAITH —“This is what ‘we’ do. This is how ‘we’ act.” It is a time of imitation…a child prays the Lord’s Prayer without understanding the meaning of all the words. An unchurched adult comes into our worship and just experiences what we do without fully appreciating the depth of it.
AFFILIATIVE FAITH —“This is what ‘we’ believe and do. This is ‘our’ group/church. It is a time of belonging to a group…still a time which centers around the imitation of what the group does, but with a greater awareness and growing understanding of the meanings behind our actions.
SEARCHING FAITH —“Is this what ‘I’ believe?” This is a time of asking questions…not blindly accepting what others have said. This stage of faith is adding the ‘head’ to the ‘heart’ of the earlier states. Sometimes we lose people at this stage of faith and never get them back because they needed room to question. Sometimes people from conservative churches move to more progressive churches at this stage of faith.
OWNED FAITH—“This is what ‘I’ believe.” This stage only comes through the searching stage. This is the strong, personal faith that one witnesses to and one is willing to die for. At this stage of faith, one can allow room for others who differ but can be clear and authentic in one’s own expression of faith.
(Stage of Faith information adapted from Jean Zeittlow at the following site: http://archive.elca.org/socialstatements/education/involved/ziettlow1.html )
My experienced faith was developed by my own parents, my piano teacher Peggy and the church choir director Anne, not to mention my affectionate, some might say doting older siblings. Then in college a professor friend Korrel and a dean office, Bible study leader Elizabeth and my roommate Alice and my music school buddy Margaret, a faithful Moravian Christian. Then in seminary, my new hubby Richard and my dear friend Laura, along with professors Shirley Guthrie, Walter Brueggemann, and Jap Keith. Then in our first church as pastors, there were Carol and Wendy, Rock and Nancy, Frances and Joe, and so many others. And I’ve only mentioned the first 35 years of my life. I thank God for these people and so many more. The have nurtured me in discipleship. They, along with many of you, help me to know more fully the love of Jesus Christ and to follow him with whole-hearted devotion.
Who are your nurturing now? Are you taking time to nurture those young among us whose faith is getting its primary shaping by this church experience? Westerhoff wrote a book, “Will Our Children Have Faith?” Now the question has become “Will Our Faith Have Children?” Not if we don’t make their Christian nurture our top priority. Not if we don’t grow enough in our own faith, that we model a faith they will want to emulate. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you. Rekindle the gift of God within you. God who called you with a holy calling God did not give you a spirit of cowardice, of lukewarm faith, but rather God gave you a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Authentic Relationships
John 15:9-15 & 2 Corinthians 5:15-21
World Communion Sunday
Elizabeth & Richard Deibert
Elizabeth: When Richard and I had young children in Montgomery, AL, there were days when I was not sure my patience could endure the chaos of an active household and the responsibilities of marriage, pastoring, and parenthood. On those hard days, I called church friends, who got me through those moments of insanity when the thought of throwing children, the congregation or the husband out the window became an appealing though shocking thought. How could I have such terrible impulses? Because I needed support, my cup was empty. I needed friends – real friends.
When we walked through the challenges of our middle adult years here in Florida – job losses, college tuitions, and the worries of parenting teens while caring for aging, even dying parents, we needed the support of friends, and we’ve gotten that support from you, all of you. I remember the women’s prayer group praying with me at Gretchen’s over Emily and Catherine’s misery when we first moved here. I remember the beautiful roses and the delicious meals brought by Emily and Mickey when Richard’s mother died. I remember Grant and Bill Kemp each taking me to lunch to talk about the stress of pastoral ministry. I remember Kathy and Jim Flora listening to us and lifting our spirits. I remember countless emails of encouragement from Gia and cards from Larry and from Betty, when my spirits needed a lift. I remember several of you coming to Andrew’s basketball games, and many of you taking Rebecca on fun outings, and lots of hugs on Sunday mornings. The list could go on. I am so tremendously grateful.
Authentic relationships can be found here, if you invest some time and energy at Peace. Last week we talked about our first goal – inspiring worship, and today we move on. Last week when we polled you on why you stayed at Peace, nearly 70% of you said because of relationships, because of the warmth of people. I hope you’ll spend the whole day celebrating with one another and telling stories about how God has blessed you through authentic relationships, friendships rooted in the love and the honesty of Jesus Christ.
Hear the call of the Lord from the Gospel: John 15:9-15
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15 I do not call you servants any longer,
because the servant does not know what the master is doing;
but I have called you friends,
because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
There’s a lot of talk about relationships. Banks and phone companies and insurance agents all want you to consider them friends. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. You’re in good hands with All State. But in some ways, those companies have cheapened the notion of friendship, unless they truly are laying down their life for you. I’m guessing that they’re only laying down their time for you when they can get something out of you – some business. Serving you is a means to their monetary end. I’m not faulting them. They are doing their job, but it should not be that way in church. In the church, we are friends, through thick and thin, whether you are useful to me, to the church or not.
Why? Because you are valuable in God’s eyes. Because when we are abiding, dwelling, living fully into the love of God, then we cannot help but love one another, just for the joy of loving and sacrificing for each other. Jesus makes love known to us, and if we are deeply aware of how very loved we are, our gratitude for that love will spill out of our overflowing cups for the world. One of you told me this week, your plate may be full, but remember that your cup is running over, running over with the goodness of God. We are here to fill one another’s cups, so that we go out of here spilling out love for all the world. If today or any Sunday is an empty cup day for you, just pass the word around quietly. We all have those empty days, and if this is a full cup day for you, then keep on pouring the love out, keep on laying down your lives for one another. There’s more deep joy in that than anything else because we are created to be like Christ, to abide in him.
And now I shall turn the rest of this sermon over to the one who replenishes my cup most generously. Over to you, Richard, my devoted partner in Christ. What do you and the Apostle Paul have to add to this Gospel of God’s love in the friendship of Jesus Christ?
Richard: So what makes a relationship “authentic” according to the Apostle Paul? And why is it vital for a new church development — any true church — to seek “authentic relationships” as a top priority? That’s the question your pastor handed me Monday morning when we were discussing today’s worship service. She handed it to me because she knows the Apostle Paul is my hero. And, believe it or not, I’ve spent five years of my life studying Second Corinthians. After five years, I essentially concluded that the loss of an authentic relationship is the very reason Paul writes this letter: “Why, Corinthians, has our relationship lost its authenticity?”
In a little more than one year, the Corinthians had swung 180 degrees from a deep and honest spiritual friendship with Paul to an attack on Paul because of his bodily weakness. What was happening on the outside of Paul had become more important to the Corinthians than what was happening on the inside. It mattered more that Paul was losing physical strength than that Paul was gaining spiritual power. It mattered more that Paul was losing physical attractiveness than that Paul’s inner person was growing profoundly beautiful. It mattered more that Paul’s body was dying than that Paul’s spirit was abundantly giving life away to others.
You see, the outward, visible things of Paul’s body had begun to matter more to the Corinthians than the inward, invisible things that make a relationship authentic — that word “authentic” comes from the Greek authentikos for “author.” The Corinthians were no longer interested in Paul’s true inner self as “authored” by Jesus Christ; they had become obsessed with Paul’s public popularity and status and power — they preferred Paul the outward, inauthentic celebrity over Paul the inward, authentic friend.
Well, Paul responds by writing this long letter, Second Corinthians, in which he defends his mortality as life-giving and pleads with the Corinthians to reestablish an authentic relationship. In today’s passage, Paul is laying the theological foundation for an authentic relationship. I call this Paul’s “Charter for Christian Ethics” — how a Christian MUST regard every other human person. That’s right, to be a Christian — to be ethically, authentically Christian — be able to lay down your life for your friend, according to Paul, means a very special way of seeing in your friend an INNER reality and seeking an INNER relationship. Hear the Word of the Lord in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:
For the love of Christ urges us on [actually, the Greek is stronger than this: the love of Christ constrains us, controls us, leaves us with no other choice], because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And [Jesus Christ] died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view [actually, the Greek reads: we regard no one exclusively as a fleshly, material, human person]; even though we once knew Christ [exclusively as a fleshly, material, human person], we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God.
This is how the Apostle Paul defines an “authentic relationship.”
FIRST, Jesus Christ loves you and me so much not only to die for us, but to include you and me with Him in His death.
SECOND, by including you and me in His death, Jesus Christ sets us free from living for ourselves.
THIRD, as we become free from ourselves we are given the power to see the inner, eternal selves of other human persons — just like we now see the inner, eternal Self of Jesus Christ as the Divine Son of God. We see the inner essence of one another so truly that we are no longer able to focus on externals like body and attractiveness and popularity and power. In fact, Paul says, once we are free from living for ourselves, we begin to see the inner essence, the eternal purpose, of the whole creation — and it appears brand new! Every created thing glistens with God’s eternal glory!
FOURTH — once we begin to see the world as it truly is in Jesus Christ — we are set free to lay down our lives for one another in the ministry of reconciliation. Because we see the inner, eternal beauty of one another and refuse to focus on external things about our person, we are free to seek peace with one another — even if it costs our life.
And that’s what both Jesus and Paul mean by an authentic relationship: the freedom to lay your life down for someone because you see that person as he or she truly is, a new creation, eternally beautiful, glistening with God’s glory. And when you see people like this, you can only seek to be at peace with them — to be reconciled of all conflict.
Peace Presbyterian Church, God has given you and me the ministry of reconciliation — the ministry of authentic relationships. This is our gift and calling, as revealed by all the people Elizabeth mentioned. We are ambassadors for Christ, men and women and youth and children through whom God is making His appeal to Lakewood Ranch to be authentic friends — at peace with one another, free and willing to lay our life down.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
World Communion Sunday
Elizabeth & Richard Deibert
Elizabeth: When Richard and I had young children in Montgomery, AL, there were days when I was not sure my patience could endure the chaos of an active household and the responsibilities of marriage, pastoring, and parenthood. On those hard days, I called church friends, who got me through those moments of insanity when the thought of throwing children, the congregation or the husband out the window became an appealing though shocking thought. How could I have such terrible impulses? Because I needed support, my cup was empty. I needed friends – real friends.
When we walked through the challenges of our middle adult years here in Florida – job losses, college tuitions, and the worries of parenting teens while caring for aging, even dying parents, we needed the support of friends, and we’ve gotten that support from you, all of you. I remember the women’s prayer group praying with me at Gretchen’s over Emily and Catherine’s misery when we first moved here. I remember the beautiful roses and the delicious meals brought by Emily and Mickey when Richard’s mother died. I remember Grant and Bill Kemp each taking me to lunch to talk about the stress of pastoral ministry. I remember Kathy and Jim Flora listening to us and lifting our spirits. I remember countless emails of encouragement from Gia and cards from Larry and from Betty, when my spirits needed a lift. I remember several of you coming to Andrew’s basketball games, and many of you taking Rebecca on fun outings, and lots of hugs on Sunday mornings. The list could go on. I am so tremendously grateful.
Authentic relationships can be found here, if you invest some time and energy at Peace. Last week we talked about our first goal – inspiring worship, and today we move on. Last week when we polled you on why you stayed at Peace, nearly 70% of you said because of relationships, because of the warmth of people. I hope you’ll spend the whole day celebrating with one another and telling stories about how God has blessed you through authentic relationships, friendships rooted in the love and the honesty of Jesus Christ.
Hear the call of the Lord from the Gospel: John 15:9-15
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be complete.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15 I do not call you servants any longer,
because the servant does not know what the master is doing;
but I have called you friends,
because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
There’s a lot of talk about relationships. Banks and phone companies and insurance agents all want you to consider them friends. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. You’re in good hands with All State. But in some ways, those companies have cheapened the notion of friendship, unless they truly are laying down their life for you. I’m guessing that they’re only laying down their time for you when they can get something out of you – some business. Serving you is a means to their monetary end. I’m not faulting them. They are doing their job, but it should not be that way in church. In the church, we are friends, through thick and thin, whether you are useful to me, to the church or not.
Why? Because you are valuable in God’s eyes. Because when we are abiding, dwelling, living fully into the love of God, then we cannot help but love one another, just for the joy of loving and sacrificing for each other. Jesus makes love known to us, and if we are deeply aware of how very loved we are, our gratitude for that love will spill out of our overflowing cups for the world. One of you told me this week, your plate may be full, but remember that your cup is running over, running over with the goodness of God. We are here to fill one another’s cups, so that we go out of here spilling out love for all the world. If today or any Sunday is an empty cup day for you, just pass the word around quietly. We all have those empty days, and if this is a full cup day for you, then keep on pouring the love out, keep on laying down your lives for one another. There’s more deep joy in that than anything else because we are created to be like Christ, to abide in him.
And now I shall turn the rest of this sermon over to the one who replenishes my cup most generously. Over to you, Richard, my devoted partner in Christ. What do you and the Apostle Paul have to add to this Gospel of God’s love in the friendship of Jesus Christ?
Richard: So what makes a relationship “authentic” according to the Apostle Paul? And why is it vital for a new church development — any true church — to seek “authentic relationships” as a top priority? That’s the question your pastor handed me Monday morning when we were discussing today’s worship service. She handed it to me because she knows the Apostle Paul is my hero. And, believe it or not, I’ve spent five years of my life studying Second Corinthians. After five years, I essentially concluded that the loss of an authentic relationship is the very reason Paul writes this letter: “Why, Corinthians, has our relationship lost its authenticity?”
In a little more than one year, the Corinthians had swung 180 degrees from a deep and honest spiritual friendship with Paul to an attack on Paul because of his bodily weakness. What was happening on the outside of Paul had become more important to the Corinthians than what was happening on the inside. It mattered more that Paul was losing physical strength than that Paul was gaining spiritual power. It mattered more that Paul was losing physical attractiveness than that Paul’s inner person was growing profoundly beautiful. It mattered more that Paul’s body was dying than that Paul’s spirit was abundantly giving life away to others.
You see, the outward, visible things of Paul’s body had begun to matter more to the Corinthians than the inward, invisible things that make a relationship authentic — that word “authentic” comes from the Greek authentikos for “author.” The Corinthians were no longer interested in Paul’s true inner self as “authored” by Jesus Christ; they had become obsessed with Paul’s public popularity and status and power — they preferred Paul the outward, inauthentic celebrity over Paul the inward, authentic friend.
Well, Paul responds by writing this long letter, Second Corinthians, in which he defends his mortality as life-giving and pleads with the Corinthians to reestablish an authentic relationship. In today’s passage, Paul is laying the theological foundation for an authentic relationship. I call this Paul’s “Charter for Christian Ethics” — how a Christian MUST regard every other human person. That’s right, to be a Christian — to be ethically, authentically Christian — be able to lay down your life for your friend, according to Paul, means a very special way of seeing in your friend an INNER reality and seeking an INNER relationship. Hear the Word of the Lord in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:
For the love of Christ urges us on [actually, the Greek is stronger than this: the love of Christ constrains us, controls us, leaves us with no other choice], because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And [Jesus Christ] died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view [actually, the Greek reads: we regard no one exclusively as a fleshly, material, human person]; even though we once knew Christ [exclusively as a fleshly, material, human person], we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God.
This is how the Apostle Paul defines an “authentic relationship.”
FIRST, Jesus Christ loves you and me so much not only to die for us, but to include you and me with Him in His death.
SECOND, by including you and me in His death, Jesus Christ sets us free from living for ourselves.
THIRD, as we become free from ourselves we are given the power to see the inner, eternal selves of other human persons — just like we now see the inner, eternal Self of Jesus Christ as the Divine Son of God. We see the inner essence of one another so truly that we are no longer able to focus on externals like body and attractiveness and popularity and power. In fact, Paul says, once we are free from living for ourselves, we begin to see the inner essence, the eternal purpose, of the whole creation — and it appears brand new! Every created thing glistens with God’s eternal glory!
FOURTH — once we begin to see the world as it truly is in Jesus Christ — we are set free to lay down our lives for one another in the ministry of reconciliation. Because we see the inner, eternal beauty of one another and refuse to focus on external things about our person, we are free to seek peace with one another — even if it costs our life.
And that’s what both Jesus and Paul mean by an authentic relationship: the freedom to lay your life down for someone because you see that person as he or she truly is, a new creation, eternally beautiful, glistening with God’s glory. And when you see people like this, you can only seek to be at peace with them — to be reconciled of all conflict.
Peace Presbyterian Church, God has given you and me the ministry of reconciliation — the ministry of authentic relationships. This is our gift and calling, as revealed by all the people Elizabeth mentioned. We are ambassadors for Christ, men and women and youth and children through whom God is making His appeal to Lakewood Ranch to be authentic friends — at peace with one another, free and willing to lay our life down.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)