Sermon - February 7, 2010
Text: Luke 5:1-11
7 February 2010
Topic: We are SENT
Today, I am talking to you about being SENT. This is the last of my five part sermon series in which we have talked about liturgy being an instrument for faith formation, about how our Gathering helps us focus on the theme for the day, about how the Word of God can come to us a variety of ways, and how the Meal of Jesus feeds us and Sends us on our way.
1. To be SENT is to be a DISCIPLE.
2. To be SENT is to engage in BAPTISMAL LIVING.
3. To be SENT is to give of our TIME, TALENT and TREASURE.
The actual part of our worship that involves SENDING includes the blessing, the sending of communion, a sending song, and the dismissal. By far, it is the shortest part of the liturgy, if you only consider the time it takes on a Sunday morning. But, if you include what it means to be a disciple throughout the week, to live out our baptismal promises – day in and day out, and to give of our time, talent and treasure throughout that same week, then the SENT portion of our liturgy involves much more than the hour we are gathered here today.
To be SENT is to be a DISCIPLE. At Good Shepherd, we are making the transition from being a congregation of members to a congregation of disciples. We are moving away from a “membership model” where people “sign up” for membership, like you’d sign up for a class, or join the YMCA, or some other kind of group and moving toward a “discipleship model” which stems from Jesus’ words in today’s gospel in which he called three fishermen to become fishers of people.
When Jesus called the original disciples to become his followers, he didn’t ask them to commit an hour a week to worship. He didn’t ask them to pick up a newsletter and see what others are doing for the sake of the kingdom. He didn’t even ask them to put money in an envelope, drop it into the offering plate, and expect that was enough.
No, when Jesus called upon those fishermen to follow him, he expected them to leave everything behind. He expected them to commit their entire lives to the gospel cause for which he came into this world and ultimately died and rose again. Jesus didn’t just want an hour of their time, he wanted everything they could offer, all of their time, all of their talent, and yes, all of their treasure, if that’s what it took.
Membership is easy, discipleship is not. Membership expects only the minimum, discipleship expects total commitment. Jesus didn’t ask Peter, James and John to become members of his group. He called them to become disciples.
Membership in the church is an old concept that needs to be laid to rest. Discipleship is what grew the early church. But when “membership” came along and became the dominant way of being connected to the church, the church’s mission and passion waned, and almost killed the church.
Discipleship is what will revive the church. That’s why we are embracing this concept once again.
To be SENT is to engage in BAPTISMAL LIVING. I was talking to a Roman Catholic friend the other day and we began talking about “holy water.” Holy water is used in the Roman Catholic Church for baptisms, for blessing oneself upon entry into the church, and at other holy moments in their worship life. My Roman Catholic friend said, “But you know what, I’ve been thinking about this whole ‘holy water’ thing and isn’t it the case that all water is holy? I mean, didn’t God create everything, and in that sense, isn’t every drop of water, and, indeed, all of creation ‘holy”?
My answer, of course, was, “YES.” All water is holy, so is the earth on which we walk, and so is the air we breathe. That’s why, as Christians, we need to care for all of God’s creation, that’s why we pray for God’s creation each week, that’s why we don’t use Styrofoam which never de-composes in our kitchen, that’s why re-cycle as much material as we can here at Good Shepherd.
All of creation is holy, including you and me.
Baptismal Living is the active pursuit of living out our baptismal promises each and every day of our lives. In baptism, God blessed us and said, “You are holy. You are my child. I love you, today and forever.” In baptism, God covenanted with us to be our God and our guide, no matter what.
We affirm our baptism in a formal way through a confirmation program and become a “confirmed member” of the church. We also we affirm our baptismal faith using in one of the creeds in worship on a Sunday morning. In affirming our baptism, we accept God’s baptismal claim upon our lives and determine to live our lives faithfully and with the same commitment of the early disciples.
Practically speaking, baptismal living means that everything we do in our jobs, at school, on the playground, at the gym, at the grocery store and in our homes, matters. How we treat others, what decisions we make, what kinds of things we spend our money on, and whether or not we include God in our daily lives determines whether or not we are living baptismally.
To be SENT is to give of our TIME, TALENT and TREASURE. As the gospel reading said today, “[Peter, James, and John] left everything and went with Jesus.” (Luke 5:11 CEV) They didn’t become a disciple in name only, or, for just an hour a week, they gave their time, their talent and their treasure to the gospel mission to which they were called.
Every one of us has a gift to share for the sake of the gospel. As St. Paul reminded us a few weeks ago, “The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does….God’s Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ….God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others….Together [we] are the body of Christ. Each one of [us] is part of [Christ’s] body.” (I Corinthians 12:12, 13b, 24b-25, 27 CEV)
Your gift of time, talent, and treasure, and my gift of time, talent and treasure is just as valuable as the person sitting next to you in the pew. God blessed each of us in baptism. God blessed each of us with the ability to give. Each of us has a function and a purpose in God’s creation. Each of us has something to offer. We are disciples, chosen and called by Christ, to become fishers of people.
Last week, Jon Roth gave us a wonderful quote attributed to Martin Luther. Luther said, “Every believer needs three conversions, a conversion of the heart, a conversion of the mind, and a conversion of the purse.” If we allow Christ to convert our hearts, our minds, and our finances, we will indeed become the disciples he calls us to be.
We know what gifts God has given to us. We know what gifts we are holding back. We know that Jesus called fishermen to do what they’d never done before. And we know that God didn’t let them down when they began to give of things they never knew they could give.
As we leave worship today, let us accept the blessing that is given. Let us truly believe that throughout this week, the Lord will bless us and keep us. Let us truly believe the Lord’s face will shine upon us with grace and mercy. Let us truly believe the Lord will look upon us with favor and give us peace. And when we do this, we will be free to give of ourselves and become the disciples Christ calls each of us to be. AMEN