The Pathos of Grace; Sermon for Sunday June 5th, 2016 by: Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

The way of Christ, ‘Via de Cristo,’ the way of Grace—where we are in the here and now as Disciples of Jesus—this is something to truly praise God for! The texts we have this Sunday are quite beautiful. Through the Gospel, we have the overwhelming compassion of Christ Jesus reaching out to the poor and destitute widow who has just lost her son... Little does she know that Christ would not only completely raise her son back to life but completely restore New Hope and faith in her for the future.  This wasn’t just to save her from the customs of the time but He restored her faith in life in general by restoring her son.

Who can say that today in regards to realizing God’s work in your life? I believe that some of us can.  Believing, holding a conviction is just the start. What we have a hard time realizing, is thinking about God's work active all around us. We also have a very hard time spiritually contemplating what Grace in our hearts, IS, when it is truly lived. We have a beautiful Witness to the Galatians from Saint Paul, which is interesting since he just got through yelling at them in the first Passage, we heard from last week… Now he is truly and most profoundly sharing his prayerful story of how he has completely changed inwardly first, then outwardly in what God means, what Christ truly means to him now after his whole entire life is completely renewed and he realizes that he has New Life through Christ who did indeed gave him strength.

I think it would behoove all of us to look with fresh eyes and an open heart to the thought of New Life, New Direction from Christ. Conversion is something not talked about too much because people don't understand what conversion means. It can even seem like a scary term for someone to use… Which I thought it was quite ironic early on in my own journey into ministry when I was in discussion with different groups about how I came to the faith and why I am here now. Some people frankly acted surprised, others thought it was strange.  It was as if they didn’t want to hear yet alone understand how an experience in a small little Northside Swedish Lutheran Church in Chicago, could frankly reinvent my whole entire life— but it did!

This is what we have to think about: how God does reach out to us? How God does continue to speak to our hearts in the here-and-now? We must be clear here, but this is not so much about us more than it is a journey into being and becoming so much more through living for Christ and for others.  This living for Christ and neighbor is the pathos of Grace—the mission and purpose of the Gospel!  The Good News as being and purpose in the world but not of it!

The journey from being an artist to becoming a pastor is in some ways connected to that profound revelation Paul makes to his Wayward Galatians. Paul as well throughout many of his letters continues to go back to that “heart knowledge” acquired from his conversion experience.  Through his letters, we hear the journey of FAITH.  Faith is a powerful thing, in some senses you could say faith is an organic creature. In actuality, faith is the New Nature being revealed by God's guiding Grace growing deeply in that first church—the heart of the believer.  It is through Christ Jesus, whose resurrecting love planted that gracious seed in our hearts to be opened and grow in ways that we may be astonished by, not overwhelmed by and take what is given to live into it in the most complete way that we are able!

Faith like compassion, is a very challenging step for us spiritually. We're not naturally disposed to feeling compassion... We most likely limit ourselves naturally to our families, even then…  The challenge of compassion should drive us outside of ourselves which is the whole point of Christ's example to us not only in the miracle of this resurrection of the widow of Nain’s only son, but in the many things that He has done during his three years’ time here on this tiny little rock floating in space...  In many ways we are to live into the lifestyle of Grace holding fast to a resurrecting hope, not only for ourselves but for the world we share as His children of Grace and promise.

Sometimes I have wondered and dreamed to see God's face, to see His tears as we continue on our own paths that often have little or nothing to do with expressing compassion, living Grace, sharing love, kindness, Mercy, forgiveness and so on… But instead live into indifference, intolerance, hatred and control… From the headlines in the news around the world, it would appear that our paths are wandering in a direction that would only bring the Lord to tears. Harboring a radical Grace is a lifetime's journey of trial and error as both sides center in a renegade world’s defiance to the gospel which only champions the ruler of the world, instead.

Some of the Biblical Greek this week was amazing. For the notion of Gospel becomes a verb in one instance, referring to Paul's preaching as “gospelizing,” and in the other instances it is used as a noun. Do we think of ourselves as bearers of the good news or are we too far removed into our own world and our own one-dimensional relationship with God to see what it truly means lived through our hands and feet as a natural response of Grace through faith?  The blessing of the last few years beyond the struggles of church planting is just those two words: church, planting.  Starting a community only from the Word is an amazing testimony of the power of the Gospel—Good News to gather people together in order to scatter and proclaim!

Gathering people together, planting churches, can we even imagine what St. Paul was experiencing?  As well, can we imagine his co-planters sojourning Asia Minor basically, seeding these churches, pastoring and developing New journeys for those who came into fellowship under their gatherings?  I think this is something we easily overlook or not contemplate long enough.  The Bible itself was a fascinating journey for those deciding how the narrative of the canon should actually be.  If we went in chronological order, First Thessalonians would literally be the very first book in what we have come to know as the New Testament!  If you even took a look at that letter with this in mind, you can almost imagine St. Paul like a radio announcer proclaiming the Good News to the world!

Today’s texts have two very powerful instructions for our hearts to hear: Transformation and Grace.  Grace is the fire of the Good News to transform our hearts to fully resurrecting into the New Creation which is the goal of the Gospel—the fruit of the Kingdom of God. The most beautiful part of these texts to hear is how do we realize how Christ conquered death in our own lives? My own witness from my conversion experience was that the freedom that Christ spoke to my heart during that conversion experience revealed A New Path which instantly WAS New Life for me. It was not only a brand new Journey but it was a resurrection of my soul to where the Lord truly needed me to go!

From persecutor to proclaimer, St Paul's Journey should amaze us and not be heard as something that happened two thousand plus years ago but heard most powerfully as an amazing Act of God's work in this man's life.  Speaking for myself, being a part of planting the seed of a community of Grace has been the blessing of eye witnessing God’s work in the hearts of those I have pastored. No matter how God has called and commissioned you with the gifts He has given, revealed to you—it is important as His disciples that we take the time to look inwardly… This can be done by asking yourself:  How did I get here? This is where I am on my faith journey—am I listening closely enough to God’s guiding Grace?  Is my prayer life rising as incense from the soul living into the promise?

Being at the helm of your spiritual formation journey is just the beginning.  Faith builds hope, hope realizes promise, love turns the heart to God—the Kingdom is near… Church starts though, in the heart.  This is where God needs us to do spiritual warfare battle in order for us to stay on the right path.  For there can be many voices out there… but is it from another Gospel, is it really the Good News? Like a flower in a field of stones, let your hearts rise to the occasion of the Good News! Grace is the “miracle grow” of God for each and every one of us.

Let us Pray—

Gracious and Loving Lord Jesus,

We are so blessed to grow from Your servant Paul

We are also even more blessed to prayerfully contemplate

The power of Your resurrecting Love—compassion

Guiding our lives daily

As we Grow daily with the Good News

Help us continue to see, hear and LIVE

The Good News as that lifestyle of Grace

Our faith is revealing for us to see.

To You alone, Be the Glory!

Amen

June 5th, 2016; Third Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 5; Year C; SOLA Lectionary

Sermon By: Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, FODM

Psalm 30; 1 Kings 17:17-24; Galatians 1:11-24; Luke 7:11-17

          

The link below is to this week's sermon delivered at the Grace Hub's House church service at 8am:
https://youtu.be/WBu3haBzJLs