An abbreviated version of a sermon delivered March 22, 2009
Luke 6:27 – 38
I received a telephone call from my baby brother. He phoned to let me know the kids are great; and he is returning to Afghanistan April 20th. John then said he updated his will leaving me custody of all five children should something happen to both he and his wife, Jennifer.
All of a sudden, I found myself needing Lamaze breathing lessons. Five children from age 3 to 13 given into my care because I am the one they trust with their most precious gems. All I said on the phone, in that moment, to John was “okay…”
I was talking with God about this matter when I felt God say, “I trust. I trust those who call themselves my children to take the risk and to care for one another. I take a risk every day by counting on each of you to be faithful to the call.” We forget that God takes risk with us.
We gave birth to Imago Dei MCC eight years ago; and have developed and matured through our childhood years of giddy joy and playtime followed by our adolescent years—oh my—the challenge of adolescence! Now we have entered into young adulthood.
Which makes the reflection Building Up Hope so important. One of the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations is the willingness to join with Christ in risk-taking mission and service.
The reason the Gospel of Luke 6:27-38 is important for our reflection is because Jesus is teaching his disciples what is necessary to be a disciple who will take risks. The reading is all about character, and how one is to develop his or her character if one is to be deemed successful in the eyes of God. Do we trust God enough to be willing to take risks? Trust is not easy.
When we started a church in a suburb with a history of anti-gay violence in which there were no other churches publicly declaring welcome to LGBT folks—those who came along didn’t display high trust—it takes time to build trust with Christ and in community.
Our birthday party last month was a celebration of our past; and now we look forward, with God, toward our future and our hope. We are challenged once more: do we trust God; and will we, Imago Dei MCC, extend ourselves beyond our comfort zone to tear down walls and build up hope?
The adolescent years of this church demonstrated low trust; and thankfully those years are behind us…they are history. According to the fifth developmental stage of Erick Erickson, an adolescent is faced with identity versus role confusion:
Our task is to discover who we are as individuals separate from our family of origin and as members of a wider society…And if we are unsuccessful in navigating this stage, we will experience role confusion and upheaval. A significant task for the adolescent stage is to establish a philosophy of life. [1]
This is the life of an adolescent congregation, too…developing a philosophy of life according to the teachings of Jesus. Praise God!
Let there be no confusion: Imago Dei MCC is a Christian Church called to serve Jesus Christ within the church movement known as Metropolitan Community Churches. We are now a young adult church.
We worship God. We grow our faith. We serve and support each other. We seek justice. We share the good news of God’s love with others, inviting them to join us. We value diversity; and we take risks serving those who are called “least of these.”
This is our character and calling according to the teachings of Jesus.
If you have a Bible at hand, turn to the Gospel of Luke 6:27-38 and read the passage. According to the translation of the Bible called The Message, it begins: “To you who are ready for the truth…”
Adolescents have a tough time hearing the truth if it means taking responsibility for their own lives…, but here we are beyond adolescence, ready to listen to Jesus; and we are told: “Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst…no more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.” Again, Jesus repeats himself a few verses later (verse 35) when he says, “I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting in return. You’ll never—I promise—regret it!”
It isn’t easy loving enemies. Nor is it easy living with a giving spirit, but then living a life with integrity and character isn’t easy, though it is the right thing to do! Jesus focuses upon two areas: relationships and resources.
First is Loving Enemies: our relationships: For those who are participating in the weekly small group discussion on The Power of Forgiveness, they are learning that having a forgiving and generous spirit has a direct impact on personal health and well-being.
Those who are able to forgive have better health—scientifically proven. As a church of queer and queer friendly folk, we live healthier personal and church lives when we are able to love enemies, as well as strangers; and risk trusting one another.
It is also difficult to love those whom you don’t trust; and thus the importance of tearing down the walls of mistrust/distrust and building up community through healthy communication, which leads to loving relationships.
Second is a Giving Spirit: our resources: To live with a giving spirit means to live with less fear and worry. To live a life of giving means we do trust God to provide for us. I ask those of you looking for jobs or at risk of losing your job the following: are you focused on yourself and your family first? If so, you are like most others.
What if you focused on how you will serve God once you have the new job? How would that change your attitude at this time? Would you have greater peace during this challenging time? Trust is hard, this we know, and how hard is it to trust God?
Bringing this closer to Imago Dei MCC as a whole—how would we be different if we looked at our church challenges within a faith-based framework of seeing God-given opportunities for growth in our midst?
Sandwiched between Jesus' repetitive teachings of loving enemies - investing in our relationships - and giving generously—sharing our resources, Jesus speaks to the heart of character. He says, “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!” That, faithful followers, is all about taking risk!
Jesus follows up with this statement: "Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity begets generosity."
In the sixth stage of life development, according to Erik Erickson, a person enters into young adulthood; and at this stage success is rendered when an individual is able to experience intimacy and solidarity with others. An individual is unsuccessful if he or she chooses isolation and distance.
We, as a church body, have entered into young adulthood; and God is asking us to risk—to trust—intimacy and solidarity with God and one another.
We have left behind those adolescent years of “jumping on failures and condemnation” found in exodus communities. We have entered into a day of living into the hope of generosity begetting generosity found in the early church and the Acts of the Apostles.
The question I have posed before God in prayer, and before this Body of Christ right now is this: will the people live into their best character? Will the people trust God and one another? Will the people who claim a membership of the heart to this church dare to risk living into the promises of God and extending themselves?
We started the year recognizing economic challenges— we prayed for guidance and voiced a vote of covenantal commitment to God and MCC—having reduced our tithes to MCC while we invest in Christ to grow our church. Over the last six weeks God has started to reveal opportunities for our community to take risk, invest, and seek to grow. Here they are:
[1] Develop a truly welcoming ministry to help folks become integrated into our church
[2] Expand upon our radical hospitality through Sunday Fellowship and monthly events
[3] Rev. Lance Mullins has felt led by God to discern his call within Imago Dei MCC. He is gifted in the area of adult Christian Education.
[4] Our mission to Equality Forum on Sunday, May 3rd
[5] Our church is attracting persons called to pursuing ordained ministry—we are a teaching church.
God is taking risks with us, people! God is giving us opportunities to mature into our character and credibility as faithful servants of Christ. Beyond our challenges lie our opportunities; and will we build the bridge to reach those opportunities of God to grow our church?
God’s word is a living word; and when Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus, fourth chapter, I believe he was also writing a word for us today. Paul wrote:
We must no longer be children [or adolescents], tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. Thus the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the church’s growth in building itself up in love.
May we respond to God’s faithfulness with a willingness to risk both love and a generous spirit? May we enter into our young adulthood ready to tear down walls and build up hope! What will we do?
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