God, the Divine Landscaper 11-13-11

FIRST READING— James 1: 19b-27
In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God our Creator, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

SECOND READING—Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23
At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
"Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.
"The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
"The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
"The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."
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God, the Divine Landscaper 11-13-11
God, Giver of all blessings, Giver of Life, grant that we might open ourselves to the possibility of knowing your perfect peace. Lead us in Your ways of knowledge; send us wisdom from your very heart. Bless us as we speak and as we hear. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
We got back yesterday evening from a wonderful time away, rested and ready—ready for the wonderful seasons that lie ahead of us and all that is to come in the life of this amazing church. In some of my reflecting time, I did some thinking about the sermon series that we take up this morning. I had almost overlooked one very important aspect of this study. Initially, I believed that the most important outcome of this particular sermon series would be the likelihood of greater understanding and cooperation as we work together in this still young church to build a community where we really mean all those nice words that we say. As I was working on this sermon, the one where we talk about the final piece of the diversynergy pie described as Growth-oriented, I realized that the unexpected benefit for myself and I hope for many of you, is that I am discovering new ways to express my faith. The more I know about the way I currently practice and demonstrate my faith coupled with the more I learn about other faith approaches, the more I realize that I am ready to try some of those other pieces of the pie—a rather nice surprise. I hope that by the end of this study we will all both understand our basic approaches to faith and experience new faith styles about which we would like to know more. With today’s slice, we will have completed our pie populated with those who work from an action perspective, those who lead us in vision and purpose, those who challenge us in creativity, and those who, by their example, urge us to dig deeper in growth.
My initial take on the final slice—the growth perspective lead me to basically dismiss it as only interested in growth in numbers, programs and money—the more I studied, the more I realized how truly wrong I was. Those whose faith style is centered in growth have much to teach us. Not just numbers and statistics for these folks, they are also focused on spiritual growth, personal and communal. So to these multifaceted faithful folks, we look for inspiration about all kinds of spiritual and community growth.
We often think of growth as an upward and outward thing—bigger, broader, better. Spiritual growth however, grows deeper. Wanting to know and understand all that she can, the growth-oriented person digs deeper into scripture, theology, and seeks to learn from as many different perspectives as possible. Our first reading written by the apostle James gives us a wonderful metaphor for allowing God to work in our lives.
James writes: “In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.” A salvation garden of our lives tended by no other than God—the divine gardener. And then, in a wonderful call to put what we have learned in the salvation gardens of our lives, James points out that when we even “catch a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life” we will begin to act. Our deepest spiritual growth—when we have been landscaped by no other than the Word—moves us seamlessly into the sphere of action. As we understand the connection, James predicts that we will find “delight and affirmation in the action. “ And from such a connection as this comes “real religion”—those practices which are pleasing to God—include a physical response to spiritual truths. James calls us to simple work—we are to reach out to the homeless and loveless and guard against the corruption of a world—that which does not know of this divine landscaping plan.
I invite all of us, whether we are experienced in spiritual growth or not, to try a simple experiment this morning. Envision the garden where God is working with you. Are the gates open or closed? Are the paths cleared and marked for easy travel or do you have to pick your way through the brambles of distraction? Are the plants lovingly pruned and protected from predators or do you have to search through the underbrush for each flower and plant in turn. Do some trees majestically reach toward the sky? Are there saplings as well as trees just now beginning to bear fruit and blossom? God, the divine landscaper, invites us to enter this garden often and to partake of the spiritual growth and deepening, that results when we yield the landscaping to the Divine Gardener at work in us.
Lest we lose ourselves in some vision of an inner garden of ease and complacency, Jesus comes along in our passage for today and calls us to accept as ours the responsibility for the preparation of the ground—the readiness we bring to God’s divine purpose.
We catch up with Jesus on the beach. There are so many people pressing against him that he gets into a boat to place a little distance between himself and the noisy crowd. Using the boat as a floating pulpit, he preaches to those who would hear, often by using stories to illustrate his deeper teachings. And so, along with the crowd on the beach, we listen as he asks, "What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”
Jesus says to them and I say to you, “Are you listening to this? Really listening?" Have you figured out what your responsibility is in this creating a salvation garden about which James speaks? Jesus, in his parable, makes it clear for us. “When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it”
Alas, that’s a lot of stuff getting in the way of planting, sprouting, and growing. Thankfully, there is one more kind of earth—the good earth and Jesus explains, "The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams." What seems clear as we study both of these passages, is that Jesus is telling us that we choose the kind of soil where the farmer (known to us as God) will plant the seeds—and begin the process of divine landscaping. If our interior garden is made of less than ready and able soil, we can make that change. We can eliminate the brambles of distraction and the rocks of guilt and shame. We can open the gates and invite the Divine Gardener to have Creation’s divine way with us. We can give ourselves over to re-creation in desire and will. If we do not, by nature, long to grow deeper into knowledge and faith in God, we can choose to do so anyway.
Is this not true for all faith styles? While it is good for us to know and understand each other’s leanings in faith styles, we can also encourage each other’s longings and learnings in becoming all that God intends for us to be.
Next week we will take one last look, at least for now at diversynergy—that principle that says: together we are more than we could ever hope to be as merely the sum of us as individuals. Together we will rise to the challenge to be about ministry by all for all. We will touch once again, the longing to belong to a righteous community—one that is planted in the good soil of receptivity and reaction. We will act, plan, dream, create and learn as a community—God’s community firmly rooted in the belief that there is so much to come that like the seed cast on good earth—we will be the people who hear and take in the good news of God’s radical acceptance and we will produce a “harvest beyond our wildest dreams”. Amen and amen.

That's the Way It Is 10-30-11

FIRST READING—Hebrews 3: 5-8

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.

SECOND READING—John 3: 5-8
Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.
"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."
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God, who spoke the world into being and who listens to our every cry, remind us that we are your treasured creations. Open our hearts and minds to you this day. Amen
I used to wonder why the New Testament shows Jesus interacting with so many people who have such difficulty comprehending what Jesus is saying. From our perspective, and, of course, we are reading from the end of the story; it seems much easier to understand. It would seem that the writers of the New Testament not only recorded what they saw, they also did it in such a way as make it possible for all of us through-out the centuries to come to have a way to experience Jesus’ teachings in our own lives exactly as they impacted this myriad group of ‘not so smart’ folks. I, for one, take great comfort in all of that—that we each learn and respond to the teachings of Jesus in unique ways depending on where we are in our own lives at the time. God’s Word touches us as a precious gift, created by God to speak in ways that we cannot help but hear. What a gift we have!
Today we continue in the third of five sermons relating to the various ways we live into and live out of our faith. Borrowing from Ronald C. Williams, we have called those “faith-styles”. In our first week, we focused on action-oriented folks—those who bring an attitude of “let’s do it” to our community. Those same people make good planners as long as those plans get put into action without too much delay. They bring an active, energetic spirit to our community, and, quite frankly, those folks are the ones we depend on to keep us moving. Secondly, there are the purpose-oriented folks. They are the people who keep us focused, keep us moving toward a common goal or purpose. They are the planners of programs and missions—constantly asking the rest of us if our activities are in alignment with our purpose. They are the “where are we going?” folks who help keep the rest of us on stable ground pursuing our vision.
Today, we come to the somewhat elusive faith-style called the “creative” faith style. They are the dreamers, and the ones we turn to when we’ve run out of ideas or find ourselves stuck in the same-old-same-old. But they do so within the framework of faith; so, I want to spend some time today looking at what scripture has to say to us about creativity and faith. You don’t have to look far.
The writer of Hebrews had much to say about faith. In fact, Hebrews 11 gives us the most-often quoted definition of faith: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” It is good, on this day when we celebrate All Saints’ Day, to note that the ancients, the saints that preceded us are commended for their faith. And so we start on solid ground. In Hebrews 3, our first reading for today, the relationship between faith and creativity become obvious. Here the writer tells us that the ‘fundamental fact of existence” (you can’t go deeper than that), “the fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.” Our ancestors, these saints who we celebrate today were set apart from the crowd by their very acts of faith. And then we hear, “ By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see. “ So we affirm, in language both comforting and awe-inspiring just this—the creative power of God—the word of God—which resulted in the existence of the world, illustrates for us what it means to believe even when we cannot see exactly how God’s act of creation occurred. But our affirmation falters sometimes and we are not alone.
Listen to Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus. What precedes our passage is the story that Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a learned teacher of Jewish law, comes to see Jesus. Nicodemus is sincere, telling Jesus that he knows that Jesus must be from God because of all the things he knows Jesus has done. Jesus’ response is supportive. He acknowledges that Nicodemus understands these things because he has been born again. Just when we sit back and think that, at last, someone got it the first time around, Nicodemus loses his grasp on spiritual understanding and asks the very physical question about having to re-enter a mother’s womb in order to be born again. So close and so far away.
“Jesus said, ‘You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.’” Jesus takes us to a spiritual place of understanding in this answer. We cannot hope to understand the fullness of this event is we have not experienced the “wind-hovering-over-the-water” creation. Jesus continues, “So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."
This is God’s creativity at work and those who have some portion of the creative style of faith work, seem to be able to work in this ‘creative space’, this spiritual place where ideas can be explored, risks can be taken, and comfort gained in the connection between divine creativity and ours. These are usually our “think-outside–the-box folks—those who challenge us to try not just newish things, but completely new and untried things in our worship and ministries.
The creative process in the context of ministry and worship gives us the opportunity to bring order to disorder. The chaotic free-floating creativity allowing us to experiment and take great risks is brought into order by those who are willing to suspend the search for simple answers, however briefly, and allow themselves to encounter the every-which-away blowing of the spirit. Most of us are far more creative in our approach to faith than we realize. By relegating the creative style to artists, musicians, and poets among us, we cut ourselves short of the amazing energy and imagination that comes when we align ourselves with the free-flowing wind of the Holy Spirit.
When we find our worship going stale or our ideas losing their punch, it is to those most in touch with the creative spirit of God to whom we turn. The key to staying vibrant as a Christian community and alive and awake to the possibilities that lie ahead is to maintain a close working relationship with those who most thoroughly understand God’s creative process and open our hearts to learn both from them and from God’s Spirit, the great creator of all of us and all that it around us.
It is hard for some of us task-oriented and purpose-oriented folks to welcome those who think in what appears to be chaotic, difficult to follow ways. And it is just for that reason, that creative faith is just one of the quarters of the pie that develop into the diversynergy that calls to all of us to become more than we thought we could be as mere individuals working on our separate paths. We are three fourths of the way through the pie of diversynergy—what waits for us to explore in the next sermon is the faith style that is about growth—not only simple growth in terms of numbers and ministries, but also the more important growth in spiritual formation. I trust that somewhere in the process of what we are learning that many of you have already identified a faith-style that resonates with your own.
Our final sermon in this series will walk us through the central ideas of diversynergy—that is, God’s spirit calling to work for the greater good of all of God’s wonderful creation and giving us the great gift of being an integral part of a joint work that far exceeds our expectations. Here, in God’s divine diversynergy, we find ourselves clearly in the midst of God’s exceeding abundance. And, here, in God’s plenteous diversynergy, we locate our personal calls and understand how each of us brings an individual and unique faith style to place on the altar of all our work together. It is a mighty and grand experience to witness God’s exceeding abundance in the myriad of gifts God sets before us again and again! And to that we say, Amen and Amen.

Don't Forget the Root Command 10-23-11

FIRST READING— Philippians 3: 12-20a
I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.
Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ's Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven!
SECOND READING—John 15: 9-17
"I've loved you the way my Holy Parent has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.
"I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Eternal Parent. “You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask God in relation to me, will be given to you.
"But remember the root command: Love one another.
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Let us pray—God of unchanging love and grace, we thank you for sending so many people into our lives to challenge us and to grow with us. May our thoughts and my words bring you honor and glory. Amen.

Well, folks, it’s been quite a couple of weeks. But, I am oh so glad to be back even if on a limited basis. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the calls, emails, cards, and food that you have sent my way. The pain is still there, but I told God that nothing was going to keep me away from you all for a second week and so, here I am refreshing my heart and soul by being in God’s presence here, in the presence of all my friends. It’s a fine place to be.

Let me remind you of what we are doing for the next few weeks. Many churches utilize teaching on the so-called spiritual gifts and, more than likely, we will too at some point in the future. In our study of diversesynergy, however, I wanted us to take a look at the different ways we ‘do’ faith or our faith ‘styles’, if you will. Now this is an MCC church, so I can assure you that we all have “STYLE”, but we don’t all have the same style; nor do we all ‘act upon’ or ‘act out’ our faith in the same ways. This is where Ronald C. Williams’ work comes in so handy. He describes four ‘faith styles’. Last week, Terri led us through the one that we can identify most easily—the action faith style—just look around, you can point to the ones of us who are the go-getters, the ones always present to lend a hand. And bless you all for it. There are three other faith styles that are similarly important. The ‘purpose’ or ‘goal’ oriented faith style which we will look at today and the growth-oriented and creativity-focused styles which will occupy our study next week. Finally, we will look at how these styles come together in this diversynergistic model and how to determine our personal faith styles . It’s like a pie—with all four quarters you have a whole pie of faith, with anything less than four, your pie has holes in it—no quarter slice is more important that the others—it takes all four.
By understanding in detail, these four styles, we will begin to understand who we are as we bring our gifts in faith to the community that God is building here in these walls and far beyond. Let me be a little clearer, none of us belongs completely in one quarter or another and to be too strict about the descriptions of each quarter negates the value we can learn about the diversynergy that grows among our joint and mutual efforts. So we must first understand the four descriptions, and then understand how our particular combination of faith styles influences our faith work, and, just as importantly, how it impacts our interactions with folks who have similar or distinctly different styles from ours. So on to the purpose oriented style.
It is a perfect Sunday for us to study the purpose or goal oriented style of faith. Rev. Troy Perry began the MCC church 43 years ago this month and this is the Sunday we have chosen to celebrate his gift of MCC to all of us and to the world. Had it not been for Rev. Troy’s unfailing dedication to expanding the teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God’s reign of justice to include all the marginalized peoples in the world, it is unlikely that UFMCC would be the presence that it currently is in the work of God’s kingdom. Rev. Troy, while certainly embodying more than one faith style, falls most clearly into the purpose-oriented style of doing faith work. He was unquestionably committed to creating a church where everyone knew themselves to be children of God. Ken Blanchard, in his book, Lead Like Jesus, says this about Jesus’ ability to keep the purpose of his disciples on track. “Jesus stayed personally focused on what He was sent to accomplish in His season of leadership…Jesus stayed on point. He did not seek to take on other tasks or the agenda others hoped He would fulfill. One of the greatest services a leader can provide to his or her followers is constancy of purpose. When the going gets rough or temptations and distractions come with short-term success or setbacks, people will look to the leaders to see how they will respond. Will they stay on course and remain true to their mission and values, or will they give up and give in to the pressures of the moment? Jesus took accountability for going beyond proclamation in equipping His followers with a full understanding of what they needed to know to carry out their mission.
Jesus says, "I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you.” This is Jesus’ purpose to bring the love of God to the world. Everything else is part and parcel of that—we have been chosen by Jesus to bear fruit in the world, and to act in the world in a way according to this purpose. Jesus ends our passage with, "But remember the root command: Love one another. “
How many times did it look like Rev. Troy might get de-railed in his purpose for a new kind of church? There was hatred, people were getting hurt, churches burned down; discrimination threatened to tear down the celebration of God’s love for all. Then there was the HIV/AIDS crisis which threatened, in a very real way, to kill the movement. It is evident to this day that MCC lost many leaders and members during that first wave of death and dying. Just as much as real, physical loss was the theological set-back—the questioning and confusion. But Troy Perry was a purpose-driven leader and he never lost sight of this new vision being given to him by the same One—Jesus—who gave the purpose to the newly formed band of disciples. Rev. Troy then focused his energy in bringing the love of God to everyone on marriage equality.
Paul shares his truth on living by purpose. In his own honest way, he tells us: “I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.”
People whose faithwork is defined by purpose are known by the ability to transcend the familiar for the sake of fulfilling a higher or divine purpose. While trusting in God, one’s commitment to God makes it possible for the believer to venture far beyond daily, ‘comfortable’ routines to a mature leadership that serves as a catalyst for spiritual expression, learning and depth. And this is all for the following of God’s divine purpose for our lives. Both Jesus and Paul point to that with which we have been entrusted—loving God and loving each other. All other purpose and goals come from this, the supreme goal.
While action, our faithstyle from last week may be the easiest to identify, the purpose-filled faith work may be the easiest to evaluate. Is our purpose consistent with the over-riding purpose—that purpose Jesus and Paul relate to the in-bringing of the royal kingdom complete with love for each other and love for God. Committing to this larger picture, this in-breaking of God’s kingdom into our earthly home allow us, maybe even forces us, to keep our eyes constantly looking beyond the small set-backs, squabbles, illnesses, mis-understandings and confusion. Our purpose-oriented faithwork friends help keep the rest of us focused on the great good and call. Those who bring a purpose-oriented faithwork to practice at Open Circle will encourage the rest of us to constantly ask the question: “Is this plan, program, idea, or change consistent with the overall goal of spreading the love of God?” Just as our action-oriented faith workers or servants ask us: “What are we going go DO about it?”
And so we continue in our journey to the whole pie. Already half full with action and intent, we will soon add the two remaining styles of faithwork—commitment to growth, and creativity. And here we are on Fellowship Sunday where we celebrate the growth and productivity of the founding of an entire denomination. May we take with us today, inspiration and commitment from Rev. Troy Perry and to every person looking today for an MCC community, may we offer hope. Amen and amen.

God's Co-Workers 10-16-11

FIRST READING—1 Corinthians 3: 6-11

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

SECOND READING—Luke 14: 25-31

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
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God’s Co-Workers 10-16-11
Will you pray with me: God, we lift these words and thoughts to you. Fill them with your grace and Holy Spirit. Bless us as we listen for your word today. Amen
Let me start with a brief note of gratitude from Carol: Friends, I am so grateful for the many folks who stepped forward and made the worship service so beautiful today. I look forward to being back with you next week, but in the meantime, enjoy the rest of the service. I am especially thankful to Terri for reading the sermon for this week and for Paul’s worship leadership. I am grateful also for all your prayers while I have been battling shingles. I miss being there today. RC
I must admit that I am always amazed at the way God illuminates what we are studying with real life examples. And while I would not have chosen a bout with shingles to illustrate anything, I must admit that as I watched people step forward to make the service go on with short notice without me, I was amazed at how the very principle of diversynergy (DI-Vers-energy) came to life. Between now and the beginning of Advent, I will continue to talk about the differences among us that make for a full and complete experience of God’s Holy Spirit working in our midst—a study that I believe will enable us to embrace all that each and every one of us brings to the table. I am enjoying bringing the work of Ronald C. Williams, an African-American pastor and teacher, to bear on these sermons. In his book, Serving God with Style: Unleashing Servant Potential, he has developed a method that outlines for us some significant differences in the way we, as believers, exercise our faith. He uses four categories and expands from there: Action-, Growth-, Creative- and Purpose-oriented. The goal of his discussion and my adaptation of it here in Open Circle is not to label or pigeon hole each other. It is so that when we fail to agree on a certain dearly held approach to ministry, we may begin to understand how each of us works in different ways all to bring glory to God.—this divine multitude of people, skills, and approaches that results in Diversesynergy—a celebration of all God’s people reaching their fullest servant potential possible. All of the elements of orientation are necessary in any activity. We rarely see all four approaches in any one individual. That is why it is so important to involve people from all four orientations any time we seek God’s guidance in our service and ministry. The potential to be a servant of God is God’s ability to work through the very human activities of us humans as we seek to serve. More than likely, we never completely fulfill our potential during our earthly lifetime. According to Williams, “Potential is that which can be, but has not yet been attained. Divine power is the catalyst that moves every believer toward service consistent with God’s will and purpose.”
Today, we begin with perhaps the most easily identifiable style of faith—that is action-oriented servants. These are the folks who show up without fail, are extremely reliable. They show up all over the Old and New Testament and are found in every church, large and small. Quite frankly, churches are dependent on these go-getters—so much so that we often count on them too much, thereby failing to give others a chance to grow into their own brand of faith work. Paul puts all of our work, action-oriented or otherwise into perspective. What comes just before the passage in Corinthians is Paul’s irritable rebuke of the Corinthians’ arguing over who they ‘belong’ to. Some are arguing that they follow Paul, while others claim to follow Apollos. He has made his thoughts known, as well as his disappointment. He tells them that he cannot treat them like spiritually mature followers until they get that differences hold them together and not push them apart. Paul says: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. “
It can sometimes be a challenge for those of us who are action-oriented to make room for those with different perspectives. There is a “just do it” thought that sets in. So when others want to approach a task differently, those of us who are action-oriented in our faith work can appear to be leaving others in the dust. Once again, we stop ourselves and remind ourselves that we need the variety of gifts and approaches to do the work of the kingdom. Look at what Jesus said about an action-oriented approach and careful planning: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” This is action-oriented work at its finest—based in research (another way to take action) and followed up with a commitment to the action itself.
Our action oriented folks are also our accurate communicators. They spread the news about the tasks to be undertaken and the steps we will need to follow. The stories about Moses and his actions as a leader and communicator illustrate the value in this mode of faith work well. There is a particularly great story found in Exodus, chapters 35-39, about when the Israelites were instructed to build the tabernacle. Ronald Williams describes it like this: “Having received specific instructions from God, Moses disseminated detailed instructions to the Israelite community regarding the tabernacle. He discussed service hours, the building fund, interior decorating, task assignments, materials acquisition, uniforms, and much more. All aspects of the assignments were disseminated in detail. This effective communication was evident in the results. Even though scripture doesn’t indicate how often planning sessions or design meetings were held, we can speculate that a project requiring the involvement of over 600,000 people required meticulous coordination and dissemination of information. We can be sure that when it was all over, Moses was pleased because the work had been done exactly as the Lord commanded.” I think we can safely assume that there were others who looked at that task differently. But God knew just who was needed to pull off that amazing feat. And so, as we both learn about and explore other perspectives, we also begin to learn which style of faith brings the best leadership for various kinds of ministries.
In the next weeks, we will study the purpose-oriented, then the growth-oriented and, finally, the creative-oriented approach to faith work or servanthood. As we seek God’s will and way for our church, we will bring new thoughts and perspectives to our over-riding purpose—learning to celebrate who we are in all our amazing diversynergy and love for each other and God. To God be the glory! Amen and Amen.

Wide-Eyes in Wonder and Belief 10-9-11

Philippians 4: 4-9
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in your Creator! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into the most excellent harmonies.

SECOND READING—Luke 11: 33-36
No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room."
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Great and wonderful God, You call us to walk in faith. We respond in love and praise. Give to our words action and to our desires commitment. May the words spoken here and the thoughts and prayers of all our hearts bring honor to You. Amen

Florida is the land of boating. Many of us have been out on boats—large and small—and the occasional cruise ship. The land of lakes and oceans calls us out onto the water—ah, doesn’t that sound delightful. How many of you, though, have ever been caught in rough waters or a sudden storm that more than likely resulted in you promising God anything and everything if only you lived to place your feet on dry ground again. There is a great story of a group of people who were caught out in the ocean in a sudden and violent storm. Everyone, well, almost everyone, was panic-stricken. One little boy calmly stood on the deck and his calm demeanor drew everyone’s attention. “Aren’t you afraid?” asked the adults. “No” was his response. “Well, why not?” they shouted back at him over the winds. The little boy looked at them calmly and said, “My father is the captain of this ship, and he is behind the wheel.” Everyone else was looking at the winds and the waves, but this little boy trusted his father, the captain of the ship.
Now, here’s the interesting part of that story: this little boy didn’t trust just anybody, he trusted somebody he knew—someone he knew well enough to know that he was, first of all, competent and capable and, secondly, that he cared enough about him to do everything possible to keep him safe. He trusted someone he had grown up with, spent time with, someone he loved. We cannot expect our faith to grow to the point that it will sustain us through the storms of life or the storms of ministry if we do not spend time with God who is the source of that faith. Faith is a gift, freely given; but it is not a magical potion. It is a practice that grows as we grow spiritually. Is this not what Paul is calling us to in his words to the Philippians. “Celebrate God all the time—cherish time with God as special and precious. Turn your worries into prayers by remembering to ask God for what you need. Don’t forget to send your praises to God as well. Without even understanding how, you will get a sense of peace and God’s wholeness.” Knowing that this gentle piece of advice might not be all that we need, he gives us some specific, how-to directions: “Fill your minds with thoughts worth meditating upon—things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, real—things that call to you—things that are full of grace. Focus on the good, not the bad. Find things to think about that bring about praising, not cursing.” Paul, imprisoned at the time, calls them to “put into practice what they have learned from” him. He calls them to follow the spiritual practices of prayer and thanksgiving that they had observed in Paul in their own faith walk. Doing this, says Paul, makes it possible for God, who makes everything work together, to mold us into a harmonious oneness.
There are three specific things we can take from this admonition from Paul. First, that which we think most about determines how we see life—the lens through which we interpret everything that happens to and around us. You’ve all known people who were just plain miserable and determined to be so—sometimes proud to be so. More than simple miserableness, he reminds us that those things we spend the most time on color everything about our lives. You can tell when you are in the presence of a person who spends time thinking on the many blessings in their lives—the sense of authentic gratitude cannot be missed. Faith grows from that same behavior—from filling our thoughts with things that build us up rather than those which drag us down. Secondly, where I place my focus determines the quality of peace that I experience. The more I focus on how bad things are or, worse yet, how bad they could get, the less room I have for God’s peace. It’s not possible for those thoughts to occupy the same space successfully. Finally, the nature of my thoughts determines who I am as a person—as a friend, as a minister, as a child of God. My thoughts literally determine whether or not God can use me in this great work. We cannot miss the significance of this—allowing God to use us means that we necessarily focus on the things of God, the grace, the freedom and the love of God lavished upon us as royal children.
As we work together over the next few weeks, and begin to think about how each and every one of us fits into God’s plan for the ministries of Open Circle, we must start with the foundation of ministry—faith in the one who calls and sends, faith in God—but not just any faith—faith that comes from knowing who God is, spending time with Christ, inviting the regeneration of the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds—faith that comes from living in the light—‘wide-eyed in wonder and belief’. Jesus calls us to live that way—telling us that when we live with our eyes wide open, our bodies fill up with light. Just as Paul encourages us to think and ponder on only those things which are good, Jesus calls us to fill ourselves with light. Failing to do so, getting mired down in the murky depths of hopelessness and despair, extinguishes our light—the very light we are called to keep burning for all time. So we move on to what it takes to keep the light burning.
How did the ship captain’s son come to know him as the trustworthy source of safety—by spending time with his father, studying who he was and how he captained the ship. Is this not how we , too learn about our shepherd, our creator, our source of hope and faith. I ask us to return to the contemporary version of Psalm 23 that we read aloud together as our call to worship. At the time that I wrote it, I wanted to simplify the 23rd Psalm, to help it make sense to folks who were just starting their walk with Jesus. Later, I realized that learning to let God, through Jesus, meet our needs is something we never outgrow—it is a continuous process. Allow me to comment on my own version of the 23rd Psalm.
“Jesus, the great shepherd is my shepherd; I will never want for anything.” All summer, in our summer of exceeding abundance, we looked at different aspects of God’s will for us to live life more abundantly than we could ask or imagine. Perhaps, given the way we now use the word ‘want’, I should have said, “I will never ‘need’ for anything.” Faith calls us to get our ‘wants’ in line with our ‘needs’—and when we do, we can be assured that our every need will be provided in God’s time and way. “When I am tired, He gives me lovely green pastures in which to lie”. Being tired is a fact of life and a fact of ministry—it is what we do when we are tired that sustains our faith. It is when we allow God to minister to us in the ‘lovely green pastures’ of our souls that faith holds us up and brings us back to life. “And then, when I am refreshed, He bathes my soul in the peaceful still waters of His presence.” First, by turning to God, I am rested and then my soul is restored to health and peace by spending time in solitude with God—allowing my spirit to commune with the presence of the Holy Spirit. “He heals my soul when I am hurting and He leads me down the right paths when I am confused.” It took me a long time to grasp the facts in these lines. Seems simple now, not so much then. I will hurt and I will get confused. God doesn’t promise me otherwise. But at those times, my soul is healed and my feet are set on the right path, when I ask. “Even at the darkest times of my life, I do not fear the worst, for Jesus is with me; comforting and protecting me with His rod and His staff.” Like a shepherd beating off the enemies of the lambs, Jesus comforts and protects. “When things seem hopeless, and I am hurt by people all around, Jesus prepares a special table for me and anoints my head for healing.” When we do not know where to turn, Jesus promises us that if we turn to the one we know from our communion in Him, in the process of developing an abiding trust, we will be treated as precious children of God. “It is then that I am overwhelmed with the love of my Shepherd.” Our joy is complete, the one with whom we have grown this relationship of faith and trust, fills us to overflowing with love. “My life will be continually blessed with goodness and mercy and I will live in the presence of God forever. Amen and amen.

Glad to Be of Service 10-2-11

FIRST READING—I Peter 4: 8-11 (NIV)
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

SECOND READING—Matthew 22: 34-40
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
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Holy and Faithful God, we come to you today and ask for your grace…your grace so that we can hear and believe and act. May the words spoken today and the thoughts and prayers of all your people be an expression of our love and devotion to you. Amen
How many of you, when a vacation is in danger of being rained out turn to the old faithful pastime—the jigsaw puzzle? Me too, and because I love a good mystery, I enjoy a good puzzle. But how many of you have gotten almost to the end of that 500 or 1000 piece puzzle only to find what? That’s right—a piece is missing—doesn’t that make you want to scream. What we tend to do instead is to shake the obviously empty box a ge-jillion times as if the piece is suddenly going to appear and drop miraculously from the box. We may crawl around on the floor, look behind the cushions, force everybody to empty their pockets in case a jokester has gotten into the room. And sometimes it shows up, but often it doesn’t and we are really frustrated and maybe even angry. Altogether a significantly dissatisfying experience.
I wonder if some or even many of you are in that same place as you think about growing your faith life or becoming more active in this church. Is there a piece or two missing that hinders you from seeing what the whole picture might look like? I want us to think with excitement and expectation over the weeks between now and Thanksgiving about the path of spiritual growth, the developing and celebration of faith, and the discernment of God’s will for each and every one of us. For you are all here for a reason and it will be a wonderful experience together to find the missing piece of the puzzle.
I hope that all of you noticed the word “diversynergy” that appeared in the newsletter and again on the front of the bulletin. And, no, you won’t find it in any dictionary, made it up all by myself, I did; but it brings together two elements of our communal faith practice that will guide us not only in the weeks to come but in the foreseeable future. Let’s take it apart.
“Diverse”—we often talk about how different each one of us is and how we experience our spiritual life and gifts in very different ways. But what does that truly mean? It means that God gives to each of us a wonderful variety of gifts, interests, and life circumstances. And though God doesn’t make all of us the same (trust me, being tall has to be a good thing in the average kitchen), God loves us all the same. We are not the same creatures, but we are all equally created by God in the image and likeness of God. Loved equally, created with joyous differences and uniqueness.
“Synergy”—those of you who know group dynamics or systems theory know that synergy is the principle that says, in my grandmother’s words, “two or three or four or five heads are better than one.” Well, that is how I understand it—that we, all of us, created and drawn together by God can do far more when all of our energies and gifts come together into one explosion of faith, than the sum of what we could all do as individuals if it were somehow added up at the end. In a way—1 + 4 can equal 10 when our individual faith and unique gifts are multiplied exponentially in our shared journeys—thus, diversynergy.
We seek the guidance of our scripture passages as we begin this journey together. Looking to the teaching of Jesus, it is clear that the foundation of all our faith work and growth is present in Jesus’ response to the Pharisees. When asked for the greatest commandment of all the law, Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Everything is about these two commandments.”
That’s it—love God with your whole self—everything about you—your gifts, your skills, and even your faults; and, love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Nothing complicated here. Well…fortunately, Peter comes to the rescue. He tells us quite clearly what this love looks like in a Christian community—a Christian community very much like this one: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.” Peter definitely helps us put Jesus’ commandment into concrete reality and shows us quite clearly who is to receive the glory when it all comes together—God through Jesus Christ.
The phrase “love each other deeply” brings us to another level of caring for each other. This is the kind of love that enables us to look beyond our own self interest and care more about meeting the needs of others than our need to be right or first or important. This is the kind of love that puts us in our place, knowing when love abounds, it is God’s grace working through us. This is the kind of love that enables us to speak the very words of God—think for just a moment what that means—when we are in the place where we love each other deeply, where we offer gifts to each other in true servanthood with no thought for repayment or recognition—this is the very love and word of God. We use whatever gift we have received to serve others—to bring God’s grace to each and everyone with whom we interact.
Seems like a tall order until you place it in the context of ‘diversynergy’. In this context we are not alone, we are doing this together. And because we are doing it together, our efforts are multiplied by God’s gracious infusion of the Holy Spirit in all our work and practice. In this context we encourage each one to find their own path. We do not demand that they walk ours. This is true servanthood—loving those we serve as much as we do ourselves—enough that their needs are put first since we are faithful stewards of God’s grace in all its various forms. And in this way, we welcome and celebrate those who are very different from us indeed—those whose faith walk looks nothing like ours and those just finding their way. We come to know that we can learn from each other—that we can trust, and try, and flounder, and grow. And we do it in our own unique ways—finding our own path towards the God who loves us and gives us the gifts with which we are to love each other. There is an old Nicaraguan proverb: “You make the road by walking on it.” And we are doing this as people of God and as The People of God. We search within the safe haven of this deep love that grows for each and every one as it grows for ourselves. Joan Chittister says: “The grail we seek is God alone. We must seek God in the right places: within the sanctuary of the centered self.” And we find this centered self in the midst of other centered selves—selves centered on doing the will and work of God.
So why does this take us so long? For one thing, Growth that comes patiently over time is the growth we seek—the spiritual growth centered in this deep love for each other and this total and all-encompassing love we have for God, our parent, our creator, our source. And yet, in some miraculous way, we are not all the same and so we seek ways to live in this wonderful, scary place where we must learn two things: to accept God’s great love and grace to us, allowing us to love ourselves however we are made and wherever we have been on prior paths. Just the same, we learn to love those who walk as unique individuals along side of us, who grace us by allowing us to serve and be served and who call us to be more than we ever thought we could be just as we call to them for the same.
God calls us to break down the barriers inside this circle we lovingly call open. God calls us to open it and open ourselves wider and wider—to allow more of God’s acceptance and gracious love into our hearts and minds and souls, and to love each other—all the each others in a way that moves beyond the tolerance of difference to the celebration of all that those differences mean for us—for learning, for growth, for spiritual new life. As we spend the next weeks studying together about the people God is calling us to be may we prayerfully search our own hearts, find the missing piece and walk this pathway with all the other searching and growing children of God. Let us be the people God calls us to be. Amen and amen.

September 25, 2011--Calling All Harvest Hands

FIRST READING— Acts 16: 4-10
As they traveled from town to town, they presented the simple guidelines the Jerusalem apostles and leaders had come up with. That turned out to be most helpful. Day after day the congregations became stronger in faith and larger in size. They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.
That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.

SECOND READING—Matthew 10: 5-8, 40-42
Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
"We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God's messenger. Accepting someone's help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing."
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Great God, we seek Your word today. I pray that You will quiet our distractions and focus our hearts. May the words of my mouth and the reflections and responses of all our hearts bring glory to You. Amen
This is the last in our series of sermons based on traditional hymns of the Christian church. And I have saved the one closest to my heart for last. The words to “Be Thou My Vision” were written in Ireland in the 8th Century by an unknown Irish poet. The words were never translated from Gaelic to English until the very beginning of the Twentieth Century. It was set to the music of an old Irish folk song. Ireland was evangelized in the Fourth Century by St. Patrick—yes, that St. Patrick. His story is similar to the Apostle Paul’s about which we heard in our first reading. Patrick, at age 16, was initially taken from Scotland to Ireland as a slave after pirates descended on his little town. He states that it was during this time that he “gave his life to Jesus” and promised to follow Him. Patrick eventually escaped and returned home. His family begged him never to leave their little town again. One night, Patrick had a dream. In it, an Irishman was pleading with him to come evangelize Ireland. And, like St. Paul, Patrick answered the call.
Although his family was broken-hearted, he returned to Ireland with only a Bible in his hands. As he traveled around the countryside, multitudes came to listen. Although there were those who sought to kill him, his preaching was powerful and he is credited with planting over 200 churches and baptizing 100,000 converts. Centuries later, the Church of Ireland was still producing hymns, poems, and worship songs. It is from this rich tradition that our unknown poet penned “Be Thou My Vision”.
A pastor in any church has several roles—preacher, teacher, caregiver, nurturer, planner, and prophet. Many of us focus on the first five and hope that someone else will be the prophet. Prophets are not, by usual standards, very popular. There are times, however, when God gives us no choice, and this is one of those times for your pastor, this day. The songs and scriptures that God laid on my heart for this service are all closely related to asking God for a vision, or more appropriately put, stepping up and moving into the vision to which we are clearly called. Let me be perfectly clear, this is not a sermon about buying a church building. I will say that several more times today, because I want you all to really hear it. It is a sermon about doing the hard work of becoming a church.
But first, I return to Paul. Paul and others were traveling from town to town. The Jerusalem apostles and leaders had developed simple guidelines and Paul used those guidelines to plant new churches—they worked; the congregations became “stronger in faith and larger in size”. We will come back to these two elements of growth in a moment. Paul and the others had a plan for where to go next, but God blocked two of their plans. They finally ended up in Troas. There Paul had his famous dream—a person from Macedonia called to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us”. Paul responded and the early church continued to grow. We focus on the dream, on the success and miss the earlier part of the story, where Paul had his own plan and God blocked it. What does this say to us? It says that when we listen, God will show us clearly the way to go. The way may seem hard and confusing—even with dead ends, but God has our best interest at heart and is preparing us for a larger ministry—of that I am sure.
Let’s return to the two criteria of growth of these early churches—larger in size AND stronger in faith. We’re getting the larger in size for sure, but I am convinced that we have a ways to go in the ‘stronger in faith’ department. And with one must come the other. So, we are left with the question—“what does it mean to be church?” What does it mean to grow both in size and faith? We don’t have to look hard to find God’s answer to the question. Our gospel reading which tells us the story of Jesus’ first charge to the “harvest hands” lays it out pretty clearly. Let’s look at it in detail:
First—the where—“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. Second, the who—“And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Third—the what—“Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. And, finally, the why—“You have been treated generously, so live generously.’
And then, the best news of all, Jesus gives us a promise that will uphold our faith work for all time—“We (Jesus and us) are intimately linked in this harvest work” says Jesus. “Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you.” Knowing that we will fail and feel frustrated, Jesus comforts us—“This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing."
I have often heard Deacon Jean say this about Open Circle—“it’s a cup of cool water to my thirsty soul!” And, suddenly, I get it—we get it—that we are to be just that—cups of cool water to those who are thirsty. Aha, here is where we are challenged—challenged to know what people are thirsty for and what is the “cool water” for which they seek. Here is where we are challenged to be more than the wonderful worshipping community that we are. Here is where we are challenged to be “church”. Let me say that again: It is at this point that we are challenged by God to be more than mere worshippers of God. Here is where we are called, as Jesus sent the twelve, as God sent Paul to Macedonia and Patrick to Ireland—here is where we are called to be “church”.
Now, let me be honest. Would it be easier to be ‘church’—to offer the ministries that we are called to do in order to tell them that the kingdom is here and that they are loved, bring health to the sick, peace to the addicted, to raise those who are dead because of grief and loss, to touch the untouchables and bring them the love of God and all God’s children, and to kick out the demons of self-hate and doubt if we had a church building?. Yes, it would be easier and having a church MAY be in God’s plans for us sooner rather than later. But we have much discernment and searching to know God’s answer to that question. So, I say to you again: this is not a sermon about buying a church building. This sermon is about being ‘church’ which is far more important than a building in which to stand.
God is calling us to decide here and now if we have what it takes to move beyond worship into the world—from singing to serving and from hearing to doing. God is calling us to step up and make this “growing in faith” a priority in our lives and in the life of this church. God is calling us to BE the church—to step up and out, for each of us to meditate on the possibility of providing the sustenance of time, talent and treasure that this church needs to grow in faith—to spend time in prayer for this church and in discernment regarding what God would have you to do. It will take the involvement of every single person sitting here today and every single person who later reads or hears this sermon to answer God’s call for Open Circle. We are, I admit, in the proverbial “rock and a hard place”. But, is that not where God and we, the people of God, do God’s finest work? I believe that we have what we need to become church to our neighbors and to each other. I believe that God did not call us this far and bless us with all of you who have walked through these doors to say “ok, that’s enough!” There are hundreds who still need to hear what Open Circle has to share about God’s loving and radical welcome. And there are hundreds more who need a place such as this to serve and to grow into all that God calls them—calls YOU—to be. And so today, I challenge each and every one of us to ask ourselves seriously if we are ready to be ‘church’, if we are ready to move beyond a community who loves to gather in worship to a community who gathers to worship and grows in faith—a community who says ‘yes’ to the call to be God’s church in the world. May it be so. Amen and amen.