| 2012 February 12 Sermon |
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Being the Body of Christ My most recent previous church in Manteca, a town located on highway 99 between Stockton and Modesto, has a beautiful campus of buildings and landscaping. There is a sanctuary, separate Fellowship Hall/gym with a lovely Fireside Room, commercial kitchen and restrooms, plus two separate buildings for classes, a food pantry and music programs and separate building for offices. Everything is one story with lots of parking. Having so many flat roofed buildings and a parking lot that needs resurfacing has it's own set of problems for the Board of Trustees. A beautiful biblical garden had been planted over the years between the offices and the sanctuary. One of the improvements that occurred while I was there was installing a lovely prayer garden complete with benches, fountain and a labyrinth made of paving stones. The congregation not only raised all the funds for the project, they literally sweated by installing it themselves: from removing the grass, digging down and placing rock and gravel then leveling it, installing irrigation, cutting and placing the paving stones to form the labyrinth and finally planting the shrubs, trees and ground cover to create an inviting and quiet setting. As we completed the project we had our denomination's motto professionally painted over the doors to the Fellowship Hall: "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors". Several months after the project was completed I was alone in the office working one Saturday when I heard noise in the biblical garden. I went outside to find older teenaged boys skateboarding on the wooden benches. I'm not someone who hates skateboarders; I agree with the bumper sticker: "Skateboarding is not a crime." I also believe there's the proper time and place for such sports. Manteca has a skateboard park, after all. I took a deep breath and went outside to talk with the boys. I was always courteous never wanting to anger kids who were hanging out at the church. Such courtesy was not returned after I explained the garden was a place for sitting or talking and that skateboarding on the wood benches would damage them and was certainly not safe. I returned to the office and soon heard more noise but I couldn't see where it was coming from. I walked toward the sanctuary to find the same guys now skateboarding on the labyrinth! I told the boys this was a worse choice, as this was a path for prayer walking and reflection. They mocked me by getting down on their knees and loudly pretending to pray; then they looked up at the new sign over the Fellowship Hall and said, "Yeah, open hearts, minds and doors to anyone but skateboarders!" I responded quietly, "Please go somewhere else to skate. You are welcome to walk or sit, but not to skate here." I share this story to illustrate that every church has its own unique set of challenges as we strive to live our faith in our specific location. In Manteca I truly believed that the boarders would have been welcomed in worship, fellowship, classes, the youth group. At the same time being a part of the faith community comes with responsibilities. We would not have allowed the Board of Trustees or the FMW skating on the labyrinth either! My point wasn't about the people but about their behavior and attitude. Everyone was allowed, but not everything was allowed. We are all well aware that we find similar challenges in our downtown location. Recently our live-in custodian was awakened in the middle of the night with six young men running on the roof while a woman was filming the event from the street! What we're really discussing in our Sunday morning class that is using the book "If the Church Were Christian" and in the "Opening Hearts, Minds, Doors" class after the second service is how do we go about being an authentic community? Being an authentic community is never easy: it calls for boundaries and agreement on behaviors. It calls for honesty, integrity and trust. I was privileged to hear a wonderful speaker describe what a true church community looks and acts like, as well as the transitions each one goes through over the years. She highlighted these points: • We acknowledge that as individuals we don't exist alone; This stage doesn't last forever because new people join the church, others die, move away or feel called to another church. It's all part of the ebb and flow of the life of the community. Notice the word life. The Body of Christ is a living organism that must be tended and nurtured in order to thrive. In authentic community there is always a tension between compassion and evaluation, inclusion with safety. There are numerous places where scripture directly addresses the struggles of the church to form authentic community. Paul wrote many letters with instructions to the new struggling churches because it's hard worshipping and working with people we didn't choose. It's difficult to put up with other people's foibles and to welcome people who are different from the majority. Most days I have enough trouble just putting up with my own foibles! Paul makes very direct suggestions in his Letter to the Church in Ephesus. He begins by both affirming and challenging the church to be worthy of the call they have received as followers of Christ. He lists a variety of ways saints are equipped to promote unity, which is a maturing process. Leaders are lifted up in each church with the intention of bringing unity to the whole body, not to be seen as above or better than anyone else. In this church we have three Lay Leaders who are chosen for this role: Helen Nolte, Ralph Drake and Sheila Linn. They are known to be humble and mature people of faith who have been part of the church for many years and who have a variety of gifts/talents that compliment each other. Paul writes that the roles of other church leaders are the same as the whole of the body: "to live in gentleness and with patience, approaching all with love." He suggests that this includes sincere evaluation in ways that do not put others down, but being patient and loving we will continue to grow, always seeking as much unity as possible. As with any congregation First Church has had its fair share of dissention and conflict in our almost 150 years; and yet many have always tried to keep the unity of the whole church in place. For instance, with the change of pastors there are always people who leave and people who return. There are always members who know they can outlast any pastor! As one outspoken Alaskan member was fond of saying, "This one too shall pass." He was smiling when he said it and we became dear friends and the church also appreciated his honesty and his loyalty to the church. Bill became one of the Lay Leaders of the congregation for that reason. Others choose to leave when changes are made that they don't agree with or that don't suit their tastes or individual needs. These can be changes in the time for worship, a change in the music staff, the kinds of music or even the color of the new carpet. Some times people simply need a reason to feel justified for leaving. For those who stay, leaving feels like abandonment and we grieve. That's part of being human and part of caring about each other. Those who stay have a choice: to turn toward each other or to turn against each other. Over and over again this congregation has chosen to turn toward each other and to continue to reach out to welcome new folks into the fold. You have taken the long view and have a loyalty to something larger than any current issue. Certainly there are valid and healthy reasons for leaving churches, especially when the leadership is toxic or abusive in any way. I'm not talking about other churches this morning, but only this church. How do we honor our history and tradition while still opening our hearts, minds and doors-- which may mean doing some things a little differently than the way they've always been done? I know those are fighting words in many churches and perhaps for some of you. As a living body (and not a dying institution) we will continue to change if we are to survive and thrive! John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was known to say "we are moving on to perfection" but we're not there yet! That's true for us as individuals and as a community of faith. In Ephesians the author anticipates what others will say when we state, "we are still growing up as a church". We invite ridicule when we admit that we are always learning new ways to understand how God is at work among us. So, Paul wrote, "act like grown-ups. Don't' be easy to manipulate. Know who you are and stand your ground. Know what you believe and stand by it. People are going to con you; be smart and avoid it even while promoting unity." How will we be as we continue to grow up as the church that God has called us to be? It may be simplistic to say "let us find joy in our unity" while living with such diversity. And yet we have that challenge 2000 years later to embrace this identity and work together to truly be the Body of Christ in the world. Always, always for Jesus' sake. Amen |