Sunday
08/02/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Live as people
worthy of the call you received
from God”
Old Testament
Lesson: Psalm 51:1-12
New Testament
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16
Gospel Lesson:
John 6:24-35
Brothers and sisters, friends, welcome once again on this
our Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. This day, that is ten Sundays after the day
that the Holy Spirit moved through the disciples and the early Christians, like
a mighty fire, like a holy wind. On this day, the Christian Church was
officially born, and on this day the disciples and early Christians went out
preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide. They went out feeding the
hungry, clothing the naked, changing the world forever.
Nearly two-thousand years later, we are there heirs, we are
there decedents. We are here today to continue the work that was started in
Jesus Christ so long ago. This work I speak of, is the work of preaching gospel
of Jesus Christ, and transforming the world around us. Creating a world where
all people have food, clothing, and place to sleep. A world filled with God’s
love, and the compassion of Jesus Christ.
Yet with this said, a question that a lot of local churches
like ours often wrestle with, is this, how exactly do we change the world
around us? I mean the mission statement of the United Methodist Church, is “To
make disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world.” Well I
don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty tall order. “Transformation of the
world?” Well how can we accomplish that?
I think that sometimes we look at the world that we live
in, we watch the news, and we see pain and suffering. We sometimes want to
change it ourselves, and we sometimes feel powerless to do so. Imagine though,
if all of us were united in this mission of the “Transformation of the world.”
I mean, I can do a lot as one person, as your pastor, but what can hundreds of
people do? What can thousands, millions, and even billions of people do? You
see the world now has over seven-billion people, but over two billion of these
people are Christians. This means that about one out of every three people on
earth today, are Christians.
Imagine then, if all us who follow Christ united together?
Imagine further, if all of the people who follow Christ, then united will all
people for the “Transformation of the world?”
Now something that I have learned as a young fourth year
pastor, is that I cannot do everything. I can do a whole lot, but together,
with all of us, we can do a ton! We can raise money to end Malaria in Africa,
we can fund a university in Africa that is training students who will work for
the “Transformation” of Africa. Together we can feed the community. Together we
can do so much.
I have found that in our culture though, we tend to put
high value and worth on certain positions in our society. People might say, “Pastor
Paul, you’re pastor this church, so you are “making disciples of Jesus Christ
for the transformation of the world.” While I do in fact where many hats, I
tend to serve certain functions in and for the church, but you all, the body of
the church, are the beating heart of what makes this church run.
This morning the Apostle Paul writes a letter to the church
in Ephesus, or the Ephesians, to encourage them “to live as people worthy of
the call” they “received from God” (Eph. 4:1b, CEB).
The reading from Psalm 51 from this morning says in 51:1, “Have
mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love! Wipe away my wrongdoings…”
(Ps. 51:1a, CEB). Now if I am living out my calling as a pastor, to reference
what I just read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, then God might call upon
me to “wipe away” the tears of someone else (Ps. 51:1a, Eph. 4:1b, CEB). Yet
God might ask you to do the same exact thing, as well.
As a pastor, I have been entrusted by God and by you, with
a holy set of responsibilities, to this church, to you, to your families. I have
been charged with preaching the word of God, ordering the life of the church,
administering the sacraments, and serving everyone. It is my duty to love you
and your family, and to work to bring you into a closer relationship with Jesus
Christ. Yet, while I am placed as the leader of this church, I am not the
church. The helm of this church is Jesus Christ, and we are called “to live as
people worthy of the call you received from God” (Eph. 4:1b, CEB).
So for me, I try to do my best live, act, and conduct
myself, so that I might be worthy of the calling that I “received from God” (Eph.
4:1b, CEB). Yet we are all called by God. We all matter to God. We are all of great
importance and significance to God. God has given us all different gifts and
graces, and when we combine them all together, we have God’s kingdom in all of
its glory.
You
see, I believe that almighty God has a calling on all of our lives. Perhaps for
you, it is or was to be a teacher, or a plumber, or a doctor, or a stay at home
mother, or etc. The church, and the world needs all of these callings. When we
strive to fulfill our callings, and when we do it to accomplish God’s perfect
will, we build the Kingdom of God here on earth, as we await God’s kingdom to
come.
For these reasons, a church can have the best pastor that
has ever been created, but the church is still a collective unit. This
collective unit, is the literal and true embodiment of God’s gifts and graces.
It is sort of like a movie were different super heroes have different super
powers. There are many super powers that I don’t have, but you might have them.
Collectively then, we can come together will all of the gifts and the graces
that God has spread throughout the earth, like the scattering of seeds on a
fresh plowed field. Imagine a church that is complete with all gifts and graces.
Imagine what we could do for God and the world with such talents, abilities,
and strengths.
Imagine it we took the gifts and graces that God gave us so
seriously, that we used them whenever and wherever we could. Imagine what that
would look like. In this way, God has given me some gifts and graces, among
which, singing is not one. I hope though, that I am living worthy of my calling
to be a pastor. I hope that you and your family feel loved, cared for, and
spiritually fed by me. Yet, I am just one person in the body of Christ.
In reference to our callings from God, the Apostle Paul says
this morning, for us to “Conduct” ourselves “with all humility, gentleness, and
patience. Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity
of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together” (Eph. 4:2-3, CEB). You
see, I am just one person, with all of us together though, we have many gifts
and graces, and together we can do so much.
Part of my calling as a pastor, is to help unlock those
gifts and graces in you, and in many. I am not the church then, but instead, I
am but a mirror. A mirror that has been sent here to reflect God’s love, so
that it might fill us all. So that we might unlock further our gifts and graces,
and our purpose for being on this earth.
Together then, we are strong. The Apostle Paul said that
the church should be, “one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in
one hope” (Eph. 4:4, CEB). The Apostle Paul then says, “There is one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through
all, and in all” (Eph. 4:5, CEB). We have been put on this earth then, to serve
God, and to being relationship with Jesus Christ and each other. As this church
that Jesus Christ himself created, we are tasked with “making disciples of
Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world.” This means then, that we
are all called to accomplish this, yet differently. None being more important
than the next, but all needed to make this thing called the church work.
In this way, the church is sort of like a jig-saw puzzle,
and we are all pieces of God’s kingdom. If one of us is gone, we cannot have a
complete puzzle. The pastor brothers and sisters, is only one piece of the
puzzle. I am not the puzzle. I am not Jesus Christ. I am just a man that God
has called to serve, preach, love, order, administer, and to be a mirror that
reflects God’s love. We together then, are this church, with Christ at the
helm.
In this way, the Apostle Paul goes on to say in his letter
to the Ephesians that, “God has given his grace to each one of us measured out
by the gift that is given by Christ” (Eph. 4:7, CEB). The Apostle Paul then
says of our God given gifts, “He gave some apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. His purpose was to equip God’s
people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all
reach the unity of Faith and knowledge of God’s Son” (Eph. 4:11-13a, CEB). This
means brothers and sister, we are here first and foremost, for Jesus Christ. To
worship God, to love and build up one another, and together change the world.
You are all a very central part of this process. I cannot do this by myself.
The Apostle Paul then goes on in the letter that he wrote
to the Ephesians, and he challenges us. He says, “God’s goal is for us to become
mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of
Christ” (Eph. 4:13b, CEB). Together then, we can tell all people about Jesus
Christ, about the hope we have in Him, that we have in God. As the Apostle Paul
encourages us to “grow in every way into Christ, who is the head” of the church,
let us all, seek out our callings more, and seek out our gifts and graces more (Eph.
4:15b-16a, CEB).
The Apostle Paul then goes on to say of the body of Christ,
of us, that “The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together
by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds
itself up with love as each one of us does their part” (Eph. 4:16, CEB).
The Apostle Paul ends this scripture, by saying “each one
of us does their part” (Eph. 4:16b, CEB). So what is our part? Where do I fit
in? Where do you fit in, in God’s church? Further, the Apostle Paul said that the
church has a place for everyone, not just some. You have a place here.
In the gospel lesson from the gospel of John from this
morning, Jesus had fed the five-thousand, and then the crowd came looking for
Jesus (John 6:24, CEB). Jesus then questioned if they sought him out of faith,
or just to get more food (John 6:25-27, CEB). Jesus then tells the crowd, “I am
the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes
in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35, CEB). So in Jesus Christ then, we can
be transformed, we can be given spiritual food and drink, to fill our souls. We
can be saved from ourselves, have new life, live eternally in heaven with God.
Now I don’t about you, but this is why the Greek word “euangelion” translates to “good news” or “good
message.” You see brothers and sisters, the gospel is “good news,” and we are
all part of the dispersion and the fulfillment of that “good news.” So as the
Apostle Paul said, “each one of us does their part” (Eph. 4:16b, CEB). So, where
are your gifts and graces? Where is the living God calling you? How can you
share the “good news?”
I
have a story that I want to share with you called “Go to Jesus,” taken from “biographical information from
University of Southern Mississippi website. Sermon reported in Tony
Campolo, Let Me Tell You A Story.”
Here is how it goes: “Will Campbell was a Baptist minister and civil
rights activist and award winning author, based in Mississippi in the 1960’s
and 70’s. Campbell’s prophetic ministry earned him death threats and opposition
as well as helping others gain insight into what it truly means to be a
follower of Jesus.”
“As a Baptist Will was familiar with
the practice of the altar call, where people are invited to indicate a response
to Christ by walking to the front of the church and being prayed for. Yet in a
sermon Campbell once turned the idea of the altar call on it’s head. “I hope
that someday there will be an evangelistic service in which, when the preacher
gives the invitation and people start coming down the aisle, he yells back at
them, ‘Don’t come down the aisle! Go to Jesus! Don’t come to me! Go to Jesus!'”
said Campbell.”
“Upon that declaration, the people
who were coming down the aisle turn around and exit the auditorium and get in
their cars and drive away. He then yells at the rest of the congregation, ‘Why
are you hanging around here? Why don’t you go to Jesus too? Why don’t you all
go to Jesus?’ The people rise in masses and quickly leave the church, and soon
the parking lot is empty.”
“What I imagine is that about a half
hour later the telephone at the police station starts ringing off the hook, and
the voice at the other end says, ‘We’re down here at the old-folks’ home and
there’s some crazy people at the door yelling that they want to come in and
visit Jesus, and I keep telling them Jesus isn’t in here! All we have in here
is a bunch of old ladies who are half dead. But they keep saying, “But we want
to visit Jesus! We want to visit Jesus!”‘
“The next call is from the warden
down at the prison. He’s saying, ‘Send some cops down here! There’s a bunch of
nuts at the gate and they’re yelling and screaming, “Let us in there! We want
to visit Jesus! We want to visit Jesus!” I keep telling them that all we have
in this place are murderers, rapists, and thieves. But they keep yelling, “Let us
in! We want to visit Jesus!”
“No sooner does the cop at the desk
hang up the phone than it rings again. This time it’s the superintendent of the
state hospital calling for help. He’s complaining that there are a bunch of
weird people outside begging to be let in. They, too, want to see Jesus! The
superintendent says, ‘I keep telling them Jesus isn’t here. All we have here
are a bunch of nuts, but they keep yelling at us, “We want to see Jesus.”
Sisters
and brothers, whether this world realizes yet or not, they “want to see Jesus.”
When we all become mirrors for God’s love and God’s grace, people can see
Jesus. We do this together as the body of Christ. We begin individually as the
Apostle Paul said this morning, by living “as people worthy of the call you received
from God” (Eph. 4:1b, CEB). When we then come together, we can change the
world. A world that whether they want to admit or not “want to see Jesus.” Amen.
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