Being the Church
Based on Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23) and Romans 5:1-8
Delivered to UMC Hudson on June 18, 2017
Hymns: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus, Freely Freely, and The
Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve (IFWS)
Romans 5:1-8
5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in
which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
5:3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance,
5:4 and endurance produces character, and character produces
hope,
5:5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
5:6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ
died for the ungodly.
5:7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous
person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.
5:8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still
were sinners Christ died for us.
Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)
9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and
curing every disease and every sickness.
9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few;
9:38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into his harvest."
10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and
every sickness.
10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon,
also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his
brother John;
10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax
collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
10:4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed
him.
10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following
instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the
Samaritans,
10:6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
10:7 As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of
heaven has come near.'
10:8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast
out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
10:9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,
10:10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or
a staff; for laborers deserve their food.
10:11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it
is worthy, and stay there until you leave.
10:12 As you enter the house, greet it.
10:13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it;
but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,
shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land
of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
10:16 "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the
midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
10:17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils
and flog you in their synagogues;
10:18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings
because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.
10:19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are
to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you
at that time;
10:20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your
Father speaking through you.
10:21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his
child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
10:22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But
the one who endures to the end will be saved.
10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next;
for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes."
When I preach at CCH I normally start with “I’m Darci Strutt
McQuiston, a Lay Speaker from the United Methodist Church up on the hill.” Now today here I am up on the hill! It is a blessing to be able to lead service
today while Rev Dawn is at annual conference.
When I volunteered to take on this service, Rev Dawn said I
could choose any scripture but she’d like it to be about what it means to be
the church. Rev Dawn also told me I
didn’t need to cover the topic of hospitality since I’ve delivered a sermon on
that recently. It made me think of the
Saturday Night Live skit where a character says, “You can talk amongst
yourselves. I’ll give you a topic.” As I began some of my study I ran into papers
with this topic and realized this subject is often used as a Master’s thesis. It has some weight to it.
I looked up the lectionary and as it always does, it fit the
need. The Old Testament lesson in the
lectionary is from Genesis with Abraham entertaining the three strangers that
let them know Sarah will bring him a son.
It’s a lesson on hospitality so that made me smile. Hospitality comes shining through multiple
times so I can’t quite skip it altogether.
I won’t cover the Genesis lesson very much though – don’t worry.
I am going to be pulling from Romans as well as Matthew for
this message. I’m also going to mix in
covering the stages of life. I see the
church as a living being so it feels natural for me to talk about it in this
way. I’m hoping by comparing a human
being, a Christian being, and the being which is the Church, that I can help
you see it this way as well. A few
different sources see life in four stages but I’m going to compress the final
two and deal with them together.
The three stages I’m tying in are:
Stage 1: Birth/Student
Stage 2: Work/Relationship
Stage 3: Wisdom/Death
Birth/Student – The beginnings
The first stage of life begins with birth and learning the
basics of life. When you think of this
stage in human terms it is obvious to see how important it is. We come into life rather helpless and need to
focus on being a student both by being taught by others and by learning from
experience. This stage sets us up for
success in the later stages so is critical to our development. We learn many skills to help us live,
including how to work with others socially.
It starts with understanding our own needs and expands over time as we
mature to letting our focus take in others and their needs as we start to move
out of this stage.
Jesus said in the Gospel of John we must be born again, born
of the spirit. In this case it is a
decision. I chose “I have Decided to
Follow Jesus” to represent this stage for our Christian life. We are transformed, and experience a rebirth,
by the decision to become a disciple of Jesus.
We need to remember the importance of the first stage – student! We hold Sunday school for the youth and
understand the importance for their learning.
They are in the stage of “student” from a human perspective already so
that’s easy to see. We need to remember
that as new believers of any age we begin in the “student” stage. We begin with the knowledge from Romans, “God
proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for
us.” This is a time of learning and based
on our Roman’s passage some suffering, as well as a time of hope.
Thinking of the church itself as a person, the lesson from
Genesis fits in. Abraham and Sarah were
the birth parents of the church. God had
promised he would bless Abraham and his offspring would become his chosen
people. When I look at the Old Testament
it is quite easy to see the books of the Old Testament as describing the
student stage of the life of the church.
It is filled with laws and rules.
Throughout multiple generations, the people are being trained and
learning what it means to be God’s chosen people. The focus is on understanding their own needs
primarily, which is very like our human life at this stage.
Work/Relationship – The middle and beyond
The second stage of life is where an individual begins to
make their way in the world. The child
has become an adult! It is when we start
our career and build a family. Education
will continue, but by now we’ve learned the basics to make our way in the
world. We learn independence in our
student stage, but now is the time to understand interdependence and how we fit
together. We have a desire to make a
difference in the world. Some people
have a hard time moving from the first stage to this one.
This is the stage the disciples have just begun to hit in our
gospel lesson. They had studied at the
feet of Jesus and watched his life as an example. Verse 35 “Then Jesus went about all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good
news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.” Now they were ready to be sent out without
their teacher to do the work he had been training them to do. The job description Jesus gave was straightforward.
“As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure
the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” The salary was a little vague. “You received without payment; give without
payment. Take no gold, or silver, or
copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a
staff; for laborers deserve their food.”
Their job title was interesting; “See, I am sending you out like sheep
into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
The coming of Jesus could be thought of as marking this stage
of the church. The story of the Old Testament
was the story of the Chosen People. It
was the relationship between God and the people, but mostly it was all about
them. Jesus came and altered the focus. Part of his message to the people was – “It’s
not all about you! It is all about God!”
When he was asked “who is my neighbor”
his example was of a person outside their inner circle. He helped the newly forming church to
understand their focus needed to expand to include the whole world. The ultimate mission wasn’t to care for just
the people born from Abraham and Sarah – it was to see all human kind as their
neighbor. The Church took on that role
and expand as the disciples worked to fulfil the commission from Jesus. Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Wisdom/Death – What’s important in the end
This third stage is when the children have left home and the
time of retirement has come. We have
lived full lives and have the wisdom to share with the generations behind us as
a teacher and mentor. Often it is a time
of service to the community since we are no longer focused on our own life, but
on advancing those behind us. There is
no denying our mortal bodies. This is a
time of preparation for death, and more of our thoughts are on leaving a
legacy.
The writings within the Bible are the follower’s efforts to
provide their wisdom. The Apostle Paul
wrote letter after letter to teach and mentor those he had brought into
relationship with God through Christ’s teachings. He was aware his time on earth was short and
wanted to make sure the new groups of people continued in their spiritual
journey. The Gospels and Acts were
written to capture experiences and teaching for future generations.
The Church as a being isn’t in this final stage, but perhaps
glimpses of it can be seen within the book of Revelation or within other passages
that talk of future times. Jesus said in
Matthew 24:35-36 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away. But about that day or hour no one
knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” The wisdom of Jesus words will remain. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now
these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love.” Faith is belief without seeing,
but in the end, all will be known. Hope
is for future things that have yet to happen, but in the end, all will be
received. So, love is what is left.
Here’s what I’m hoping you take away from this message. The Church is a living thing. It has been going through its own lifecycle
for thousands of years. Our call to be
the Church is a call to become part of this living thing during the time we
share on earth.
Our development as Christians can be compared to our
development as people. We begin by a new
birth through our decision to accept Jesus as Lord, and then begin the student
phase. Don’t short change the importance
of study to understand this new life in Christ.
Coming to church teaches scripture, but consider Bible study or
spiritual book study as well. Jesus’
teachings and example of how to live points the way. The first church was called The Way. Learning how he lived during his time on
earth helps us know how to live now.
Also spend time listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit who was sent
to guide and teach you one-on-one. Study
should continue throughout your life. I
spent years in a corporate job where CPE’s Continuing Professional Education
credits were a requirement to keep my knowledge and focus so I could do my
best. They were required to keep my
certifications. We need to take our role
as Christians just as seriously. Lean on
our Wesleyan quadrilateral of (1) Scripture, (2) tradition, (3) reason, and (4)
experience. Learn where Jesus led so you
know how to follow.
Then comes the work/relationship stage. This is where most of us should be. Our study to understand Jesus journey and our
study to develop our own talents comes together. While we were sitting in the basement waiting
out the tornado warnings last Sunday our little group was singing children’s
songs. One of them was about David
throwing the stone and killing the giant Goliath. I’ve done a message on David before but I
want to bring out one very important point.
David could throw that stone because it was a life skill. He was the youngest of the children and in
the fields with the sheep. He had
developed his skill with a sling and a stone by using those tools to scare off
or kill, bear, wolves, or whatever other predator was coming to attack his
sheep. He used his skill to protect his
family’s property and income. He became
part of the life of the church when he rose up a level and used his talent to
protect God’s chosen people.
We have life skills.
We have used them to support our homes and families. Some of us have found ways to use these
skills to support the greater community.
We become the Church when we take those skills and give them to the
service of God. There is not an
expectation that all of us do everything miraculously well. We each bring the skills and talents we have,
and every one of them is needed and valued.
1 Corinthians chapter 12 brings this thought out
beautifully. Here are verses 12-20:
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many
parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether
Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to
drink. Even so the body is not made up
of one part but of many. Now if the foot
should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would
not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not
an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being
part of the body. If the whole body were
an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear,
where would the sense of smell be? But
in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he
wanted them to be. If they were all one
part, where would the body be? As it is,
there are many parts, but one body.
Jesus taught the greatest commandment was to love. In Matthew 22:36-40 a Pharisee asked;
“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.”
So our command is to love God and each other. Sounds simple
enough? Jesus explained to Peter what it
means to love in John 21.
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you
know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you
love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take
care of my sheep.” The third time he
said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus
asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all
things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Sorry Rev Dawn – I can’t totally leave out
hospitality.
As we age our working lives are done and our service to the
church also changes. This is the wisdom
stage. Retirement from the job that
created income does not mean retiring from life. We may no longer be able to do some of the
physical things we use to do, but we can share our experience love of God
during the final stage of our lives. We
can have the blessing of knowing we have been a part of something much greater
than ourselves that will continue serving because we have done our part.
David knew how to use a sling and stone. He served God with the skills he had. You may know how to cook. You become the Church when you use that skill
beyond your home to feed those in need.
You may be good at home repair, or writing, or singing, or nursing, or
gardening. Turn that skill toward
serving God’s people as well as your personal family. Hopefully you get the idea.
So what is my answer to how to be the Church? Claim the words from Romans. “But God proves his love for us in that while
we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
Share this good news not only as something the Bible says, but also as
your personal experience. Bring yourself
and your talents to the people of God’s world, for they are all loved by God. When we respond to the call to be sent into
the world by Jesus we are sent as Jesus to those we reach. Love as Jesus loved and you will be the
Church. Sometimes you become it by doing
it.
I’m going to close by offering you a Father’s Day song I
wrote in 2011.
Amen
