Sunday, May 13, 2018

Purposed Life; Sermon for May 13th, 2018 by: Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins, OSST


Today is literally the final Sunday in the season of Easter. Just what kind of message are we supposed to hear about this day? Jesus has just ascended this past Thursday. The first images we get from the Book of Acts, which I decided to spare you from the reading of this morning, since it's profoundly long, is basically the story of Jesus Ascension and the beginning of the very first Church Council. Well that maybe sort of an avant-garde summary but they did draw straws or cast lots to choose Matthias, since they needed that number 12. Matthias became the new 12th disciple after Judas’ death. The disciples were not alone, but they were perhaps nervous in hoping that they can follow Jesus plans for them in moving forward discipling the world.

Perhaps we can have or find a similar image such as the chick is being shoved out of the nest and must fly for the first time. Or when that Chrysalis shell is finally broken free from, and the butterfly gets to take flight for the first time. Diving off the diving board into something brand new, and not necessarily looking back, is a very hard thing for us. It's a very scary thing for us frankly, but we as Disciples of Christ are called to be strong and know that God has got our back. God has got our back, because we got a greater purpose ahead of us and if we're not being motivated enough to move forward, then what are we doing?

If you haven't realized it by now, things change. Every day is a change. If you think or have the delusion that you can control that change and keep everything the same, you’re gravely mistaken. Our human nature does this though, all the time. we want to control everything that's our little security blanket just like Linus has his. We cannot control our true destiny, but we could shape it with God's help. Maybe that sounds like radical words, but we don't own crystal balls, do we? If we could see the outcome of our mission in advance, would it really satisfy us or empty us from that initial drive to defining purpose? Those are hard words for the heart to hear, but God needs us to grow with those words.

The Ascension is very difficult to preach, on one level, because we already have that thought in our head of: God is up there and we're down here. The truth, however, takes a lot of faith and we love being skeptics with being convinced that God cannot be with us because of how the world is turning, and how things have been going, and how there seems to be so much peril. The awesomeness of nature sometimes reveals profound views of death and change. I'm sure several of us have seen the pictures of Mount Kilauea in Hawaii spewing lava, eating cars and burying houses very scary. We're also reading about what may be taking place in our own backyard with the possible reopening of Yucca Mountain. Just hearing a little bit about that, and that greed seems to be winning the debate of dumping there once again... it's a frightening thing. We're just burying it away, not even caring what the consequences are going to be down the road because money has diluted us into thinking it makes our world go around.

‘Money makes the world go around.’ from that wonderful Musical, ‘Cabaret,’ with Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli, I bet you can almost hear that song when you think of what happened with Judas. Those 30 pieces of silver weighed so heavily upon his heart, the evil that was done for no purpose, that he killed himself in the field by hanging himself till he was dead. They called the field of his death, the field of blood. Death has no purpose, yet we cater to temporary things all the time, because we like the easier answers. Judas Iscariot was a radical zealot and Jesus didn't fit the political, warrior-messiah image, they were looking for, to take down the Romans. So, evil did entice his heart to choose and plot against Jesus. We could say on another level, he was helpful to bringing Jesus to the cross. I think though, even if we didn't have Judas, others would have rose up against Jesus because of how radical the Gospel truly is.

I just finished a gigantic paper on apologetics. That sounds like such a funny name doesn't it? If you don't know what it means, it sounds like are you just studying or class on how to apologize to people? I’m sorry, I’m so, so Sorry! If this is what you think it means, I think you need to starting singing the Ricky Nelson song, Garden party, “You can't please everyone…,” in your head.  Apologetics is not exactly what that sounds like.  It's more a way of how we talk about our faith. It is how we define and defend our faith to others. Defining our faith to others, sharing, is giving testimony, it is Witness. We have a beautiful snippet from one of Paul's pastoral letters to the Ephesians. He not only is building them up and encouraging them by commending them for their wonderful faith, but he also prays with them. He prays with them and hopes that God will give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, as they come to know him. Probably the most beautiful verse to come next is that he wishes the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened so that they come to know what the hope is, to which Jesus has called each and every one of them. If that isn't motivation profoundly with great purpose and mission, I don't know what else is? What a wonderful way to think about this Sunday just before Pentecost Sunday! That first church needs its eyes open, that first church is our hearts.

That first church is the place the Holy Spirit needs to work in.  The entire book of Acts is a gigantic story of the early church and those early disciples, but most importantly you could say is the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.  We can't see the Holy Spirit we can only become aware of its work when we live conscientiously considering others. What do I mean by that? It's the little things we do. It is being motivated beyond yourself for a greater goal and purpose that is God's to give. This is what Paul and John are talking about today in our first two lessons here. Paul is getting us to ascend, rise beyond ourselves you could say, to help us to realize that we have a great plan that God has given us to live into. The plans that God has, are much greater than our own, with much more vision and truly much more life. John needs us to realize that the eternal life of God is revealed in our bold witness, bold faith in the world.

We can go from one extreme to the other in liking to be organized, liking to have things planned. For instance, one of my colleagues is a very spontaneous man… I actually could not tolerate the planning that he does, because he really doesn't seem to have much of a plan at all. He likes hopping from one thing to another. That would kind of drive me crazy. I like to have my little calendar book and I like to have somewhat of a sense of what's going to be going on. But he just takes off, does missionary work, works in the Air Force Reserves as well as pastors a truly tiny country church in the middle of nowhere Illinois. He now just went on active duty for I believe, a spell of 3 weeks. He just decided to do it! His congregation is obviously very flexible.... perhaps a little too flexible, I would think. But we all know people like, that. We all know someone who likes to the fly by the seat of their pants and see what happens next.

I think God wants us to be a little more responsible with how we start our journeys each day. He doesn't want us to become anxious and lament the past, and on that same note, he doesn't want us to be planning so far ahead or trying to control the future, that we lose our sense of grounding in mission and purpose. Listen to those words again, we need to not lose our sense of being grounded in mission and purpose. We are opening still "under construction..." next Sunday at our very new church home. Yes, there's probably going to be a lot of plaster dust everywhere and other things we can't control, because we are a work in progress. Each and every one of us is a work-in-progress. The minute we stop believing in that and knowing that is the truth of being a child of God, of His Grace and Promise… that is when the evil one helps us to lose our grounding, vision and hope in the future.

This is where looking back into the past should teach us those painful lessons. These were things that weren't necessarily better and we certainly didn't have the eyes of our hearts fully open to see what God needs us to do. The cold stone reality is that the church is in the muck, in the midst of the world. Whether or not that is the true reality, it doesn't mean we have to be thinking and operating completely in tune with the world. In fact, we need to be in tune with God. God is the boss here, neither one of us, none of us are the controllers of the other. God is the one that is to be leading. The one thing we never do outgrow, due to the love of God, that is beyond our understanding, is that we are His children. We will always be God's children just as we are our parents’ children. What a beautiful day coincidentally, that this last Sunday in Easter falls upon Mother's Day.

A few people have brought in some flowers this morning in special honor or remembrance of the women in our life who not only helped to bring us into the world but helped to love and guide us as what parents are to be. In nature, I don't know what's going on... for mother nature has certainly been having her way with the Earth lately. It's a funny thought, I think, to imagine the world as God's “gigantic Rubik's Cube…” but that seems to be what the earthen plates are to be. They are continually moving and changing, whether there may be an earthquake, there's plates we can't even fathom way underneath the crust, that are moving in some form or fashion. Creation is fascinating, it is more than amazing! It's actually, a wonderful image for us thinking of God's hands like gigantic “Allstate hands” cupping the Earth, you're in good hands, right?  What's really more important though, and it is hard for us, but this is that little thing that you have to keep reaping that mustard seed of faith, that God is with us.

The Living Word of God is the Bible. It is here, we are to hear the voice of God through Jesus lips. It is through the Living Word that the Spirit of God moves our hearts to respond to Jesus appeal to us to be motivated for a greater purpose and goal. We are equipped with the qualities of mind, heart and character necessary for the task. This is what the gospel this morning is trying to reach out to the disciples to hear. Jesus needs the disciples to realize what they were given. He needs them to hear the truth. It is through this truth, He needs to sanctify them into mission. He needs them to basically begin that walk. They got to start walking and talking with that Gospel. They need to go out into the streets, and they need to be bold about it. I believe, though, that sometimes we get scared about being witnesses to much of anything. It's like standing in that long line for the roller coaster that you really don't want to go on, but your friend is cajoling you to take that risk. After about an hour wait, now you're at the front of the line… Do you get dragged on kicking and screaming? Or do you get on, take that terror and turn it into something else, turn it into something productive.

I believe turning that negative energy into something positive, is the beginning of realizing change. This is realizing the change, that you can't really control anyway, (though you think you can) and this is realizing, in a profoundly beautiful way indirectly what God's purposes are for us in finding establishing that great foundation of faith to live into a full life with Christ in your hearts. Returning to that idea of being planned or not being planned…. Sometimes, the things we really want, we are not able to even come close to getting. We can keep trying, or we can be encouraged by the love of God powering our strength, our faith, to DO change. Trying is a word that fits our problematic human nature. Doing and being are God's verbs for us getting out of that nest, cracking open that Chrysalis shell and diving off the diving board... all the while trusting in his providence to save us, lead us.

I'll leave you with one last image, one last story for you to think about. Just imagine someone that you may know in your life, who's never faced their demons. They've never made the effort to go out and seek help. They have problems with addiction. They barely can hold down a job because they don't want to be controlled by anything. They feel completely alone and are feeling out of control in their own lives. They live into their despair. Looking out a window that they cannot really see from, yet alone can really see through. They have erased purpose in their lives because they have no faith. They have no faith in themselves yet alone, in someone called God. We need to pray for those who are in this place. We need to pray for our world that is hungering and thirsting for restorative justice that God can only aid us to complete.

You were born into this world by loving parents you have left the womb, and you have grown up. You are still growing though, and you are still changing. Look to your heavenly parent, look to the Holy Spirit, who is working within you as we speak, let this be your guide. We don't need to cast lots or draw straws on what we're going to do next. We need to have the faith to know that we can. We need to come to know God, then we will find truly our great mission and purpose.

Let us pray,
Gracious God
You are our guide, we are in Your hands.
Your plans for us, we will realize when we stop fighting our faith and grow our faith.
Help us to see the truth through Your Words
Help us to be a light and guide and witness to others
Of Your wonderful Gospel’s mission for the world.
Grant us a spirit of wisdom to DO and BE
All things through You who gives us strength. Amen

May 13th, 2018; Year B; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by: Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, OSST 
Hybrid: Psalm 47, Psalm 1; Acts 1:1-26; Ephesians 1:15-23; 1 John 5:9-15; John 17:6-19





 The link below is to this sermon's delivery at First Congregational Church

No comments:

Post a Comment