OUR CHRISTIAN MISSION
Rev. Larry Peters
January 27, 2013
Psalm 19:7-9
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Luke 4:14-21
Today’s scripture lessons impress upon me the teachings of (1) How to have church, (2) What the church requires, and (3) What to do as the church. We are called to think about who we are; of what we mean when we say that Jesus Christ is our Lord; what that calls us to be, and to do; of what special tools or skills that we need; of the way that we are to follow.
These teachings are of great importance to us. They are also of great importance to all those people with whom we come into contact. You see, by coming to know our Lord Jesus Christ, we have come to know his life-saving grace! We are changed! Where once we were lost- now we are found, were blind- but now we see! We are enabled! We have a purpose! We are on a mission! We are to help others to see; to see how their life can be changed—how they, too, can come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and to know his life-saving grace!
We have this in common with everyone who is a Christian. And this blessed assurance, that we are one in Christ, is what all of us celebrate! This week, and everytime that we as God’s people gather together in churches and in communities all around the world—we are celebrating and witnessing to Christian unity!
This unity, being one in the Body of Christ, is what is required of the church—what God requires of us. How can the church be anything different? How can the body function properly when it fails to work together as one? And so, to ensure that the Christian’s faith and witness is sure; that the church’s foundation is solid; that the Body of Christ in the world today is strong—we notice, as does the psalmist in our call to worship, that God does certain things:
(1) God gives us his law to follow. The law of the Lord is perfect and right. Happy are those who obey them! They receive new strength!
(2) God gives us commandments that are just, trustworthy, full of wisdom, and that we are able to understand.
(3) We should understand what we are to give. Of our giving every good thing to the Lord, our worship of the Lord is good; it will continue forever!
I remember once when I was attending church with the Methodists in Saegertown and the pastor was sharing a message with the children. I don’t remember what the message was about. I do remember a little girl of about five years of age asking in a loud voice; “How long does church last?” Everyone laughed at that, and no one was quite sure how to answer. However, here we are given an answer: our worship is to be good; and it will last forever!
(4) We are also to understand that the Lord God gives judgment. They are also just, trustworthy, full of wisdom, and they are always fair. We should know and understand that God has the authority to judge and to give laws and commandments! We should know and understand that God has a right to give these; and a right to expect his people to follow, that we are to give God loyalty and obedience!
God has given Jesus all authority as Head of the Church! We know the prayer of Jesus for God’s people, the Church: that we may all be one, as God and the Son of God are one; that is all who believe in God and the Son, through the Word that they have received! And Jesus prays; “that they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” You see, the world is watching for our Christian witness, and our mission in the world. The world watches to see what we mean when we say that Jesus Christ is our Lord; what this calls us to be, and to do.
A popular hymn says that “They’ll Know that we are Christians by our Love.” Our words, our actions should reflect this love. Love is what we do; love is what we speak—and there should be no divisions among us—but that we be “perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
This perfection is what we as God’s people and God’s church are striving after—even in the midst of our imperfection! Our Prayer of Confession that we said together explains our brokenness and how we pray for forgiveness when we have ignored God and become indifferent to God’s love. The Bible says that we love because God first loves us. But, if we are indifferent to God’s love, how can we exemplify God’s love? How will the world know that we are Christians?
In a “Peanuts” cartoon, Lucy is letting Charlie Brown have some of her anger and frustration when she concludes with the words: “and I don’t care if I ever see you again! Do you hear me!?” Linus turns to Charlie Brown and says: “She really hurt your feelings, didn’t she, Charlie Brown? I hope she didn’t take all the life out of you.” Charlie Brown answers: “No, not completely…. But you can number me among the walking wounded!”
Some of us may know about the walking wounded. Many can be found in church. And the sad part is that often the wounds are inflicted by other Christians. So, if we can start now to address one of those teachings mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, what the church requires is love, understanding, and acceptance. The Apostle Paul is addressing this in his letter to the Corinthians.
One of the great Biblical affirmations is that we are created in God’s image. And the image that we see in Paul’s letter to the church is that we are one body made up of many parts. Christians are the Body of Christ, and individually members of it, since we are all baptized into the one body. Each member is unique. Each one is different. Each has a special skill, talent, God-given ability to be used for the good of all. And so everyone is important! Everyone is blessed! Here everyone should receive a blessing. Here everyone should be invited, welcomed, loved, accepted, understood, and together we look forward to going on to perfection even in the midst of our imperfection.
If you were to ask some different people, “why do you come to church?” or “what does church really mean to you?” you’re likely to get some different, yet similar answers. An aged man or woman may say that they have always felt part of the ministry, and that the church has always been home. A member of the Youth Group might say, “I like my friends here. We have fun together.” And couples with families, or those separated or divorced, widowed or single might say, “The church is a place where people really seem to take an interest and care about what happens.” Brokenness is a part of our human condition. Caring and helping are part of our Christian mission.
And so, we are starting to see (1) how to have church, (2) what the church requires, and (3) what to do as the church. Now let’s think outside the box. Often when we think of the church, we picture a building. Do we see the church when we see each other? Let’s go deeper than that. Do we see Christ in one another? And if we didn’t have the building, would we still be the Body?
What if there were no church building or meeting place? And what if our members were dispersed and relocated? Or imagine a war situation where all of you had been captured and taken to a foreign land for a period of years—until all of you could return to home and church, assembled as family again. What would be the most important element of your celebration? May it be to re-establish yourself, your family, and your fellowship with your church family around God’s Word!
Such a situation can be seen in our scripture lesson of Nehemiah. The people had been captured and relocated to a foreign land during the Babylonian Exile. And after years of being away, they returned home to find Jerusalem in ruins and the Temple destroyed. How could they celebrate their freedom and homecoming? What would they do now? The scripture says they all assembled together and asked Ezra, the priest, the pastor to read the book of the Law—God’s Word to them!
These people had been so disconnected and out of touch for so long that they now had a hunger to hear the Word of God again! They all stood from early morning until after noon, listening to their preacher read the Bible to them! All the people listened attentively to the law. Because the people had rebelled against God, they had been captured or removed from their homes and their place of worship. And now, when the people heard again what the law required, they were so moved that they began to cry.
What does God require? Repentance; then we receive forgiveness; and then we rejoice; and then we are fitted for service! Our Christian mission is to enjoy the work that we have been given to do; and to understand that to help relieve the suffering of our human condition is to love, care and share with those who do not have enough.
Our lessons today teach us (1) what to do as the church, (2) what the church requires, and (3) how to have church. The scriptures say that the people, the church was so filled with the Holy Spirit and rejoicing, that new things began to happen in the church. Phrases such as “praise the Lord!” and “Amen!” were heard, and “people knelt in worship with their faces to the ground!”
As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, people came to see that there is “no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another.” Paul says that we should “strive for the greater gifts.” That greater gift is the unity of the Body. As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to strive for unity even in the midst of our diversity! Diversity itself can be seen as a gift when it stretches us to see beyond the familiar to experience something new.
The scriptures teach us that all of us have gifts that should be used for the greater benefit of everyone. We should learn to see and use these gifts, and encourage others to do so. Christians are the Body of Christ. And so when Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah, and we recognize him as the one anointed to:
n Bring good news to the poor
n Proclaim liberty to those who are captive
n Proclaim recovering of sight to the blind
n To free the oppressed
n And to announce that the time has come when the Lord will save His people
We also recognize that this is part of our Christian mission to a broken and suffering human condition. The church is called to continue the ministry which Jesus Christ began. We can start by confessing that we are all sinners in need of the Savior. And to recognize our need for God; and to rejoice that God has provided for us. We then learn how to love as God loves us, and to accept and understand one another. God has blessed us with many unique and good gifts; and we are to use them for the benefit of all, and to the glory of God. This is our Christian mission! May it receive the blessing of Christ our Lord. May it come true today in your hearing. Amen!
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