Instead of preaching this Sunday, we shared some videos about the life of our church and the process we are in. ENJOY!
Posts Tagged with Come to the Table
Setting the Table: The Silverware
Sing vs. 1 & 3 from “For One Great Peace” #2185 in The Faith We Sing
This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.
Sitting in the kitchen this week and helping with the United Methodist Women’s supper reminded me of the small part all of us have to play in this church. Some took up a knife to chop vegetables and others turned the crank on the ham salad. Some took up their usual post at the sink to wash dishes. Some found themselves in a familiar role serving drinks. Some set the tables. Some cleared the tables. Some served the food. Some cut the desserts. Each one had a small part… and each one of those small parts was absolutely necessary for the whole thing to happen.
This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.
Just as the supper could not have happened without all of those parts working together, neither could our church have survived 166 years in this place, without the body of Christ working together.
Not one of us was a part of this church when it began. Not a single one of us was a part of its founding. Or you would be really really old!!!
No, every single one of us was either born into this community or came to it of our own free will… possibly we were dragged here by our parents. =)
But as each of you have come through the doors, something about this community led you to stay. And I think that something has to do with more than just a friendly face or a smile and a handshake. I believe that you stayed because you realized that you had a part to play. You stayed because you were invited to be a part of the Body of Christ.
Note, I said invited… not forced, not coerced… not preyed upon by the lay leadership committee like vampires who smelled fresh blood. We must confess that does happen at times.
No, you stayed, and didn’t run screaming for your life… because you were invited to play a part. You stayed because this church had something to offer and because you found a way to offer back. You stayed and became the body of Christ.
And for those of you who are just coming through our doors for the first time this morning – I pray that you might find that part to play also.
This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.
The apostle Paul reminds the community in Rome and reminds each one of us here today that God has given us a part to play.
“Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering,” he writes.
“It’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you.”
“Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be.”
Do your small part, in this small place, your one heart’s beat, for one great peace.
You see, the body of Christ in this place is made up of each of those excellently formed parts you were made to be. And for the last 77 years or so… you have been doing that. You have played your parts. You have been teachers. You have been listeners. You have been check-writers. You have hammered nails and painted walls. You have dried tears. You have planted seeds. You have lead others. You have each played your part.
When we set the table this morning with this silverware, it is because we bring before God all of the ways that we have served our Lord in the past.Just as spoons and forks and knives all have different roles to play in helping us to eat… so we have been working along side one another as we have served God.
Take out those index cards you were given at the start of the service. Whether we are new to the faith or have been part of it since before we could speak, we each have some way that we have served the Lord. I want you to take your note card and share each of those ways you, personally, have played your part. Did you share leadership? Did you pray for others? Are you someone who is quick to offer help? Have you played a supporting role? What part of this body of Christ are you?
Take a minute to write down those things God has called you to share.
This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.
We each have a part to play, just as if we were forks, knives and spoons. God has set each one of us here with particular gifts and strengths to use.
But that also means that we have weaknesses. We have some things that we are not so good at. Just as a fork makes a lousy tool when we are trying to eat soup and a spoon doesn’t have a sharp edge to cut with… each one of us lacks certain gifts and talents.
As Paul writes to the Romans – each of us find our meaning and function as a part of Christ’s body. “But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?… let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”
You see, part of being the Body of Christ is recognizing that you are a fork and not a spoon. Part of being the Body of Christ is realizing that we need one another.
I for one have lots of things that I am not called to do.
I am not a details person. I can see the big picture and how things flow and can give a general impression about something… but I tend to forget about the small details that make the thing work.
And while I have been blessed with the ability to clean up messes without getting squeamish – I come completely undone around creepy crawly jumpy things.
This morning, I went to use the bathroom in our downstairs level and lifted up the toilet lid. There, on the seat, was a frog.
I had no idea how it got there, what it was doing, or what I was going to do about it. I just kind of stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes, until the cats realized something was up. Tiki, our big fat orange cat, walked up to the toilet… thinking he might drink out of it… when he noticed the frog. He batted, the frog leaped, I yelped and chaos ensued. The cats chased the frog around the bathroom and laundry room for a few minutes before I ran upstairs to my husband, absolutely freaking out.
I am not good around creepy crawly jumpy things. And I know it.
Part of being a part of the body of Christ is being honest about our weaknesses so that other people know where they are needed.
Working together, we have to let each other’s strengths to shine. We have to get out of the way in the places where we are weak so that we have the energy to do what we do best.
To be the body of Christ – we need to live out and embody those things we know and do best… but then we need to get out of the way. We need to let others teach us and help us. We need to give others a chance to lead. We need to practice saying, I need you.
Part of what we acknowledge when we come to the table is that as forks, we are not spoons. As knifes, we are not forks. I want you to flip that card of yours over and put a star on it somewhere. And then I want you to write down on that side of the card something that someone else here in the church has done for you. Some way that another person stepped up and lived out their part in the body of Christ. Some way that you couldn’t serve because it’s not who God made you to be.
Saying, “I need help,” is a difficult thing to do in the middle of a rural German community. But it is what Christ calls us to. Get out of the way and let others do their work. Be honest about your weaknesses. But then, lend a hand when your gifts are called for. It is not a sign of failure… it is a sign of true community.
This is small part, in one small place, of one heart’s beat, for one great peace.
And when each of our small parts get together, when each of the small things we can do add up… God works among us in amazing ways.
Setting the Table: The Plate
Two weeks ago, I was honored to be asked to plan worship for a gathering of clergy in Des Moines. A friend, Rev. Sean McRoberts planned the service with me and we had everything arranged and ready to go. I just had to make sure to arrive early enough in the morning that I could meet with the technical engineer to set up the microphones and other electronics we would need that morning.
Lately, I have not been a morning person – and this particular trip required that I leave my house by 6:30. Which meant waking up by 5:30 to get myself ready. Now, I know that many of you have internal clocks that work much differently than mine and 5:30 is sleeping in… but for me – this was a super super early morning.
The alarm went off. I turned it off. And promptly pulled the covers back over my head. Every fiber of my being wanted to go back to sleep. So I did.
Notice, I didn’t hit the snooze button. I turned the alarm off, and fell back to sleep.
Ten minutes later, something woke me up. Whether it was the rustle and squacks of the birds in the tree, or a cat pouncing on my legs in the bed or just some kind of internal switch – I woke up. And I remember very distinctly taking a deep breath and saying – thank God. And I didn’t mean it in an offhand, irreligious kind of way. I was grateful to God that I had woken up. I was grateful to God that although my body was not ready or willing, God was making sure I was going to be able to answer the call I had received. I was grateful to God, because even though I was weak – he is strong.
How many of you have heard of the word “providence”?
What exactly does “providence” mean?
The word originally comes from the Latin providentia – and has to do with foresight, prudence, the ability to see ahead. So when we talk about God’s providence – we think of God’s ability to provide for, to direct, to shape the future.
Martin Luther understood providence to be both the direct and indirect work of God in the world. Not only does God provide the good things we need for human life – but God also works through family, government, jobs, and other people. “We receive these blessings not from them, but, through them, from God.”
If you remember last week the story of the cellerar – the monk in charge of looking after the storage room at the monastery – even mundane and simple tasks can be a vehicle of God’s blessing to others. God can use even the lowliest of jobs for his glory.
And so, Providence is the way that God cares for the universe – upholds the universe – and also the special ways that God extraordinarily intervenes in the lives of God’s people.
That holy providence is the subject of our psalter this month. The Psalmist reminds us of the glorious deeds of the Lord – the wonders that he has done… wonders that we are supposed to pass on to generation after generation.
According to the Psalmist our ancestors were a stubborn and rebellious people. They witnessed miracles: they were released from bondage in Egypt, they passed through the Red Sea, they were led through the desert by cloud and light, they drank pure clear water from rocks in the midst of the wilderness… and yet they doubted. Yet they did not, could not, would not believe that God would continue to provide.
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?” they grumbled. “Yeah, God made water come out of a rock – but can God provide bread and meat for us? Can he fill our bellies? Can he satisfy us?”God’s anger was kindled… because the people had no faith in God – because they doubted God’s providence.
And yet…. And yet…. God opened the skies and manna rained down. Birds came and dwelt in their camps. Their bellies were full. He gave them what they craved.
This idea of God’s providence stays with me today… and not just because I was miraculously woken up in time to make it to a meeting. It stays with me because all around this room are folks who have witnessed the miraculous working of God in their lives.
Each of you has a story to tell about how God provided for you in some time of need.
Many of you have a story to tell about how God guided this church through a difficult time.
This building itself has a story to tell about how God has upheld and sustained the life of this congregation throughout the years.
In the middle of the sanctuary there are those large doors. I have yet to see them fully opened, but I’m told that in times of war – times of scarcity – when we sacrificed our use of energy so that factories could provide for our soldiers… those doors were closed to reduce our heating costs. The simple wonder that someone would create such doors is a reminder that through other people, and not from them, we receive the blessings of God.
All throughout this month, we will be telling the stories of this church. We will be reminding ourselves of God’s active presence in the history of this congregation.
Perhaps it was the Sunday School teacher that sustained your faith in one of those classrooms back there.
Maybe it was church dinner that took place at a time when your family had nothing left to put on the table.
Perhaps it was the words of a pastor who encouraged you during a dark moment.
Maybe you felt God’s blessings through a brother or sister in Christ who got down on their hands and knees and served you.
I hope that today as you came in, each of you were handed a note card. I want to encourage you to take out that note card and to write there on the card a memory of God’s action in your life.
For those of you who can do so – think of a specific moment or a person in the life of this church when God’s presence was know.
And for those of you who might be visiting with us, or are new to our church, or whose memory does not go back that far – share with us some other testimony of how God has worked to sustain you along your journey.
I want us to take a few minutes to fill out these cards, to remember together, how God has provided for us.
The Psalmist asks us to tell the coming generations the glorious deeds of God so that we might teach them to set their hope in God and not forget his works.
I want to urge you to place these note cards in the offering plates this morning. Hand them over go God as a thankful offering for the blessings you have received and in doing so – we will collect these memories and share them with one another at our Celebration of the Past on October 31st.
These memories… these reminders of God’s active presence in our past remind us that God does indeed provide. They remind us that not only does God call us to the table as his children… but that the table is not empty. God has and God will continue to set the table.
What I am asking you to do as a congregation is to join me in awaiting those promises of God.
To take all of these blessings that we have received and to remember them. To remember that God has worked in the past… and therefore – to have faith, to trust, that God will continue to work in the future.
The plate that we put on the table today is a reminder of this foundational promise.
No longer will we worry, “what will we eat?” or “what will we drink?” We know that God has provided in the past. We trust that God will continue to provide in the future.
We place it here today because we eagerly await the next action of God in our lives. We are prepared for the next blessings that will come. We are putting aside our worry, our stress, our doubt – We come to God and know that God will provide.
Amen and Amen.