January 22, 2017
Epiphany 3
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Matthew 4:17-23
(prayer)
Reg, the leader of the People's
Front of Judea, trying to justify active (even violent)
resistence to the Roman Empire, asked: Apart
from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public
health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... what
have the Romans ever done for us?
//
Monty Pythons "Life of
Brian" came to mind as I looked at out first reading for today.
//
//
//
When the Apostle Paul wrote
(what we call) his "First" letter to the Corinthians, he did not use
an eraser... and backspace buttons didn't exist yet.
This reality of the
limitations of first century letter-writting resulted in us being able to watch
him edit on the fly as we read in chapter
one this morning:
Were
you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, so that no one can
say that you were baptized in my name.
//
Okay,
I did baptize Crispus and Gaius.
//
And
also the household of Stephanas; but beyond that...
//
What have the Romans ever done for us?
//
This humourous
exposed-thought-process occurred when Paul was in the middle of addressing a
serious issue that was confronting the church in Corinth. We don't want to miss his bigger point. A disciple named Chloe had tipped Paul off to
the fact that there was a power struggle - of sorts - going on in Corinth. People were lining up behind their favorite
leader:
·
I
belong to Paul.
·
I
belong to Apollos.
·
I
belong to Kephas (Peter).
Some did argue against following a specific disciple, claiming:
·
I
belong to Christ.
It bothered Paul that
leadership personalities were playing such a key role in people's
identification with the faith.
We can hear the frustration
through the words that Paul wrote: Has
Christ been divided?
//
It was - of course - a
"rhetorical question". No one
would have dared argue that a division of Christ was justified. There was only one faithful answer to Paul:
"Is Christ divided?" Of course
not! There is only one gospel. We are one
in Christ!
//
Be that as it may, the
means through which people heard that one gospel was dividing the people.
Reading between the lines,
it was more than I like Paul, or Apollos,
or Kephas... it was my guy is way better than your guy; your guy
is inferior to my guy.
Paul openly admits that his
proclamation of the gospel could not be described as eloquent wisdom. It is fair to hear that as attesting to the fact
that other leaders were better
preachers than Paul. He may have written
a good letter, but it sounds like he was kind of a boring speaker.
Peter was in Jerusalem, so
he was not preaching in Corinth. People
in the Kephas camp, we're holding to the oldest traditions of the early Christian
movement.
And then there was Apollos.
According to the book of Acts,
Apollos of Alexandria was as an "eloquent man, well-versed in the
scriptures" (Acts 18.24).
//
Paul's worry was that the messanger was out shadowing the message.
//
//
//
Before coming to St. David's, I served
in a church that had three ministers on staff: two fulltime ordained ministers
and a halftime designated lay minister.
We were a team of ministers who worked very well together. We were not competative with each other, and
presented an honest, unified front to the congregation.
The DLM'S main focus was children's
programming, but she did preach and led worship about once every two months;
the other OM and I split the rest of the Sundays about evenly.
Naturally, we all had our different
styles, based on our training, experience and our individual
personalities. Even though, we all used
the same worship format, each of us planned and led worship in our own way. Unity with variety.
//
Paul, Leanne and I were mindful of the
same danger that the Apostlr Paul saw in Corinth. We were not so naïve to ignore the reality that some
people might develop a strong preference to one of us over and against the
others. We weren't comfortable with it,
but we knew that it was probably happening for some people. Our biggest worry was that, a few people
might become so pro-Leanne or pro-Blaine or pro-Paul, that they evolved to
become anti-TheOthers.
Sadly, we experienced hints of that,
one year when a budget crunch initiated a conversation about whether the
congregation could really afford two-and-a-half ministers. As the board chair at the time proclaimed: after all only one of them can preach at a
time.
I remember one particularly tense
congregational meeting, where some hoped a power struggle among the ministers
would shake things out. Who wanted it
more?
//
I was pulled aside by the same Board
Chair who said to me (and pardon the language) "As the low man on the
totem pole, I suggest you get your [resume] together."
Someone else suggested, I would be
fine, because (as the minister with the least experience), I was lowest on the
salary grid.
//
But, as ministers, we got along well
and had no desire to fight amongst ourselves.
We all sat together and intentionally absented ourselves from the
discussion, telling the congregation that we would live with whatever they
decided.
We listen and we learned what was
important to people.
This was consistent with the approach
from we ministers had used from the beginning of our time working together.
Before things ever came to a economic
head, the three of us ministers had used a common approach to working with the
Board and committees. And we spent time
every few months working out a seemingly
random, unadvertised, preaching schedule.
There was no discernable pattern of who
the primary worship leader would be on a given Sunday. Often the same person would preached a few
weeks in a row, other times, it switched up every week.
The preaching schedule appeared to have
no pattern at all.
If people were picking favorites, we
wanted them to have to wait until Sunday morning before they found out who the
preacher was.
//
//
The end of that tense congregational meeting story is that it was decided to
promote greater giving rather than cutting staff. It wasn't until more than a year later when
one of the ministers decided to accept a call to a new church, that the
congregation moved from 2.5 minister down to 2.0 - a staff compliment they
maintained through the next several ministers over a dozen years.
//
//
Attempts to divide (within the Church
of Jesus Christ) based on messangers over the message was a concern in Corinth
of the 0050s and it is an issue we ignore at our peril in the 2010s.
//
Given that most United Churches employ
only one minister, the divides tend to show themselves when people compare
their current minister to former ministers... or if there is more than one UCC
in an area, this division might be known in people closing which church to attend
based (primarily) on the minister.
//
//
//
Don't get me wrong, I want you to like
me. I want... what I say and do on
Sunday morning (and throughout the week) ...to enrich your faith, challenge and
encourage you, and inspire you to appreciate the sacredness of your life.
I strive to be a useful, effective
servant of Christ in your midst.
But, I do not want to be set over and
against the ministries led by former Leduc-Beaumont ministers, Rev Daryl
Sexsmith or Rev Britt Jessen-Aerhart, or Evi Gilmore or Rev Charlie Hickman, or
anyone.
And, I would not want to be
compartively ranked with Ruth in Wetaskiwin, Dirk in Devon, Ian at Mill Woods
or Nancy at Southminster-Steinhauer... even if I come out near the top. Especially, if I come out near the top.
It is to be about the message, not the
messenger: the ministry, not the minister.
//
//
//
At the end of April, I will be heading
to Chicago to take part one of the intentional
interim ministry training through the Interim Ministry Network. Part two will happen at the end of September
while I am on sabbatical. Completing
that, it is my intention to apply to be designated as a specially trained Intentional Interim Minister within the
United Church of Canada.
//
As the name implies "interim"
ministry is something that happens between
other ministries. When congregations
have a time between regularly called/appointed ministers, they sometimes go
through an interim period, when leadership might be less settled and decisions
are made about the possibilities and priorities for ministry.
Sometimes it can be a few weeks or
months; other times, it can be much
longer.
In 2000, there was a three month break
after your pastoral relationship with Daryl Sexsmith ended and the one with me
begun. That's pretty short. But...
When I left my first church in 1996,
the new minister started the very next day.
That is increasingly rare.
A year ago, Jasper United Church
welcomed a new minister, eleven months after their previous minister had left.
Drayton Valley United Church's
minister's office has been vacant for a few years now as they are still
discerning how to be the church
moving forward.
All of these church have experienced
(or are experiencing) periods of interim ministry.
//
But Intentional
Interim Ministry is different: more formal.
IMM is a covenanted relationship where a congregation agrees to take
time to honestly identify and faithfully sort out what they need to do to move
forward in the healthiest possible way.
For example, an IMM can be chosen when
there has been a long, healthy pastoral relationship. A buffer period of refocusing can be a wise
and patient use of time. Many-a good and
skilled minister has gotten bogged down in the reputation of their beloved
predecessor, because congregations were not quite ready to move on.
But most often, an IMM is needed when
unsettled conflict or unclear vision exists in a congregation at the end of a
pastoral relationship, regardless of whether people are prone to blame the
minister, or the congregation or uncontrolable changing circumstances.
These interim periods - whether
expected or not - offer opportunities to refocus on "why we are the
church" and "how we can we live out our ministry in real and faithful
ways".
//
Interim Ministry is a situation where a
community of faith recognizes a need to refocus on the message and get beyond how they are feeling about the most recent messenger.
//
Yes, this is the hornet's nest that I
am willingly going to learn more about over the next ten months.
//
I don't know when or if, I will ever be
called to use these skills in a formal way.
But I know that it be a valuable part what I can bring to the final
third of my ministry career.
//
//
//
Our history is our history.
Our feelings are our feelings.
It is not wise to ignore either one: or
to pretend that we are beyond being affected by what we have experienced at
different times in our life as "church".
//
//
//
Matthew (like the other gospels) relays
the calling of Jesus' first disciples in a bit of a misleading way. Mt4:17 notes that Jesus had a message (the
same one John the Baptist had): Repent,
for the Kingdom of Heaven/God had come near. But then the very next verses tell about how
four fishermen immediately responded to Jesus invitation: "Follow
me". That sounds like the disciples
were being messenger-focused, not message-focused.
John's gospel does the same thing,
without any reference to Jesus' message at all: in John, The Baptist pointed
Jesus out to his disciples as "the Lamb of God", later others tell
friends and family that they have "found the Messiah".
Messenger over message.
//
I simply find that abbreviated narrative
unbelievable.
//
It is certainly possible that Jesus'
mere physical presence might have engendered a life-changing spontaneous
response that superceded any need to know more about what "following"
was going to be about.
But, I have to imagine that Jesus'
first followers encountered him before the day he say "follow me and fish
for people".
//
The biblical narrative is... when John
the Baptist was arrested, Jesus left the Judean wilderness by the Jordan River
and returned to Galilee. But instead of
moving back to Nazareth (where he had lived his whole life), he made the
seaside fishing village of Capernaum his home base, where (verse 17 this
morning said) Jesus proclaimed that the
Kingdom of God had come near.
//
I am quite sure that Jesus was not a
one sentence preacher, even in those early days. The gospel writers did not preserve any
details, but - before Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and was joined by four
fishermen turned disciples - I suspect that Simon, James, Andrew and John had
listened to Jesus fleshing out what he meant by the nearness of the Kingdom of
God.
//
There are a number of times, when the
bible quotes Jesus as he instructed his disciples to not talk about him being the messiah. He seems to have wanted the focus go be on
what he was saying and doing not on him, personally.
//
//
//
I have shared this ministry with you for
more than sixteen years. That is the
longest pastoral relationship the United Churches in Beaumont or Leduc have
ever known.
I will not be your minister here
forever. I don't know when the time will
be right, but I have never imagined that I'd retire here.
The sabbatical agreement is that St.
David's and I both agree that neither will seek to end the pastoral
relationship for at least a year after the sabbatical ends. So, baring a really good reason to break that
rule, we are stuck with each other through (at least) November 2018.
None of that matters. It's never been about the messenger. It is the message that counts.
//
The United Church has roots in this
region that reach back to 1898. It has
remained relevant through the changes of almost 130 years.
It remains vibrant and relevant today.
Focused on our message of hope, peace,
joy and love, this community of faith can continue in new ways long after every
single one of us is gone.
Messengers change.
The message endures.
//
//
Oh, don't talk about change, Blaine.
//
Only a very hearty and adventurous few
are excited about change. Most of us
like certainty and predictability and legacy.
//
But, change is always present.
Big changes do happen... sometimes
forced on us by events beyond our control or (if we are fortunate) after
careful discernment.
Change (even ultimately welcomed
change) involves some loss. And loss
illicits grief.
A self-agrandizing messenger will tell
you to be afraid of a changing world.
They will invite you to lament a white-washed nostalgic past - and hope
for its return all tbe while resisting the challenges of embracing new
directions.
//
//
As the first years of life for the disciples after Jesus' crucifixion turned
into decades, the church was held together
by a hopeful promise that not everything about Jesus and his ministry died on
the cross. They grieved... hard. It devastated them - some even cocooned
themselves away in fear and disappointment.
But others saw new life in the shadow of death. New light after the dark.
They were the followers of a dead
teacher, but, also, disciples of a living Christ. It is said that, for a privileged few, the
Risen Jesus was a tangible experience.
Most would have to draw inspiration
from the stories of those who insisted that they had seen the lord.
//
There was something that endured the
changing times... endured the changing make up of the Christian movement over
the decades.
//
The anonymous letter addressed to the
Hebrews (which is a relatively late-written epistle of the New Testament)
expresses it this way: Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and for ever. (Heb13:8)
Now, of course, Jesus of Nazareth - the
flesh version of the word - was not the same as he always was. But the good news of God's compassion and
hope, proclaimed in Jesus' name (emboldened by a belief in everpresent
spiritual guidance and encouragement) was beyond the physical limitations of
any one messenger, locked in one era of time.
The message
is what endures.
Today, tomorrow, and forever.
The Christ endured, even if Jesus body
was broken.
//
//
New disciples (even today) continue to
hear a call to follow the way Jesus led.
From time to time, in given places, we
will ask the willing and inspired to
offer leadership. But, if we hold true
to the essence of our faith, it will not be about the messenger, but the
message.
//
Repent.
The
Kingdom of God has come near.
//
in other words...
//
"Take note. The Realm of God is in our midst. Align your life with that holy dream for our
world:
·
where
we make decisions with kind hearts;
·
where
we treat strangers as friends because justice and peace must reign;
·
where
we are never so sure of our own ability to control everything that we are
humbly open to mystery;
·
where
love of neighbour trump's love of power and wealth;
· where we can wear pink toques and stand out in the cold at a hall power and refuse to accept that inequality has a place;
·
where
love is patient and kind and shows no partiality;
·
where
forgiveness revives life in ways that grudges can never do;
·
where
we believe that each and every soul is made in the image of God."
//
This message stands the test of time...
yesterday, tomorrow and forever.
//
May this message live through us.
//
Let us pray:
Inviting God, you call us to follow in
many ways. We are grateful for the many
ways that we serve the mission of our Christ.
Amen.
#331VU “The Church’s One Foundation”
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