Holy and most
gracious Yahweh: We are such a new
community still struggling to know what you want us to be to the world. Give us ears to listen. May your Holy Spirit enliven our worship, our
fellowship, and our prayers. In the
presence of the God of many names, we say “amen”!
Now, you may well know that much of
the New Testament consists of letters from various apostles to the new faith
communities all over the region. Paul
was the most prolific if we take the number of letters included in the canon to
be any indication; but, John wrote letters, Peter wrote some and there is at
least one letter of uncertain origin or destination—the letter to the Hebrews
from which our New Testament lesson came today.
Paul, however, is the author who speaks the most about the nature of
community. Today, I have chosen to read
to you a letter that I believe would be very much like the letter he would
write to Open Circle. I have tried to
get into the mind of Paul; we share the same Holy Spirit and worship the same
God. So, with both gratitude and
apologies to Paul, I share with you a letter very much like the one I think we
might receive.
Dear
ones of the faith community of Open Circle.
I, Paul, your friend, am writing to you as I believe Jesus Christ would
write to you. I greet you with the grace
and peace showered into our very lives by the Gracious God we serve.
Do
you know that God has intended for communities like Open Circle to grow and
flourish from the beginning of time. God
knew about your fellowship and wanted it to be the kind of church that would
further God’s reign of justice on this earth.
Your faithfulness gives God great joy!
You study the teachings of Jesus Christ and other sacred writers. Your search for inner truth has not gone
unnoticed by God. You are playing your
role in the bringing in the reign of justice and peace for all of God’s
people. By receiving from others and by
listening to the teachings of Jesus and meeting him in your journey you are learning
the way of abundance. Our God supplies
your every need, and every need for everything on the earth.
You
have experienced a divine energy—an energy that utilizes all the energies that
come together in your community. You
have endorsed and valued diversity and allowed diversynergy to grow among
you. This Body of believers is actually
the Body of Christ here on earth. Your
celebration of communion shows your commitment to this community you call “Open
Circle” and God calls “the sacred Body”.
All of this energy is generated from the great mysteries of the
world—the vastness of the oceans, the wildness of the open seas, and the hush
of the great forests. It also springs
from the lives of the saints—those who have walked this road before you following
sacred teachings of Jesus Christ and others who work for God’s reign of justice.
It wasn’t always so. Prior to Open Circle some of you questioned
whether or not you still belonged in any expression of the Body of Christ; but,
now, you flourish amongst all the others in your fellowship. God wanted something better for you and so
you were lead to this place with these people.
This is God’s gift to you—from beginning to end. And God calls you to do good work.
We must not take this for
granted. It is still recent that some of
you feel comfortable and you are still learning about how God works. Be sure to learn of the great tradition of
the law and the prophets so that you may know where this idea of a set-apart
community comes from. By the time Jesus
walked on this earth, there was much discord and hatred between peoples. Christ Jesus tore down the walls that existed
between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. We
are all one through the mystery of Christ Jesus and in our commitment to
peace. It is as if we are all ‘new’ in
Christ and being new creations we are different people. In Christ, we got a fresh start. And we all share the same Spirit and have
equal access to God.
This is what I am trying to
say: You don’t have to wander alone
anymore. This faith community is now
your home community. You’re no longer
strangers or outsiders. You belong
here—here in this place just as you are.
God is using you to build a building; so, no matter how you got here,
you have a very important role to play.
God used the apostles and the prophets for the foundation. And, now, you and all people who believe in
the goodness of God are being used—cemented into the walls with brick and
mortar. It’s taking shape and God, with
all of us, rejoices.
So, now you know some of what I was
preaching and what got me in so much trouble.
I’m in jail as I write this to you.
That’s ok, I’ve been here before and it will all work out through the
grace of god. We are so blessed to have
known the risen and living Christ.
Finally, after all those centuries of ignoring the prophets, the people
have someone to listen to and to emulate.
This is my life’s work to bring everyone to the knowledge that God
accepts and loves them exactly as they were created to be. But, God did not call you into the
understanding of acceptance only to see you make little effort to share this
good news. You will be equipped by God
to do this holy work; do not be unsure.
I’m living proof of that—here I am,
talking about things that are way over my head—for God, through Christ is
generous above all that we can imagine or dream. My present troubles? Oh, they are nothing and will certainly be
resolved soon. My present response to
the knowledge of this vast and never-ending love is to kneel and pray to the
God of all Creation. I pray that you
will truly experience the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Plant your feet firmly on the ground and know
that God can do anything—in fact, God can do more than you can imagine. God, though, does not push us around or force
us to develop our faith. God works
within us, the Spirit working deeply and gently within us.
In faith communities, God calls us
to be mature. You’ve got to walk the
walk. Watch out for detours—detours
which may feel good for a while but which do not promote the growth of the
Spirit in your lives.
Now here are some ways you can love
each other in this community. Be alert
for differences and speedy to mend relationships. God has given you people with amazing
experiences and the ability to do many things.
To some God gave the gifts of apostle, prophet,
evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant
work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving in sync
with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature
adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.
Let’s not spend too much time being
“new”. You must get in step with each
other if you are to fulfill the great calling of God for this community. You must be truthful with one another. As parts of Christ’s body we are all
interconnected and so the truth must prevail.
If you have righteous anger about things that mar God’s wish for justice,
you are right to do so and to work for the end of that situation. Watch your conversations. Remember, words are a gift and are to be used
in helpfulness. Don’t grieve God’s
heart. The Holy Spirit was given to you
to strengthen you and send you into the world to do God’s work. What a gift!
You must not take it for granted.
And this is very important—be gentle with one another and sensitive to
each other’s hurts and discomfort.
Forgive each other as quickly as you are able. Refusing to forgive harms both you and the
other person. As you come to celebrate
the memory of Jesus Christ in communion, be sure your hearts are right with one
another.
If you pay attention to all the
miracles of God and explore how they cause you to feel, you will know exactly
what to do for others. Just like
children, we learn how to be from our Creator Parent. Don’t hold back, for God did not hold back
with you; but, rather God blessed you extravagantly. God doesn’t love to get something back from
us—you should love like that. So, wake
up, and allow God to use you to spread love, and justice, and peace. These are difficult times; work for the reign
of God’s righteousness.
And this is what I have to say to
you about how you get along with each other.
Out of respect for Christ, attempt to be courteously reverent to one
another. Treat each other as special
gifts for you from your Creator God.
When you come to God’s table, come celebrating the many gifts you have
in this very room.
Well, that about wraps it up for
now. Be prepared and work together in
love. You have a big job to do for the
glory of God. Utilize all that God has given you—truth, righteousness, peace
and faith will stand you in good stead throughout your life. Learn to pray and spend time in God’s
presence. Don’t forget to pray for me
and for good people all over the world who are imprisoned for trying to spread
God’s hope. One of my friends will let
you know how I am. Good-bye
friends. May love and faith be yours
from God, the Creator. May you
experience the grace of Jesus Christ in your daily life in the world.
In the
service of Christ, Paul, the Apostle
Amen and
amen.
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