Text: Isaiah 6:1-8
I think one of the greatest failures of the church today is that we put God into a very small box.
Jesus is our friend and companion.
The Holy Spirit holds our hand and brings us comfort in tough times.
The Father tenderly calls us to do the right thing.
These are all images that are safe and simple and focused on ourselves.
Not only are they woefully inadequate for encountering a world full of problems that are too big to tackle alone, but they can’t begin to capture the fullness of a God who is truly other… truly holy.
The prophet Isaiah begins to have visions.
Over and over he sees images of the failings of his nation and the bloodshed and oppression his own people have caused by relying on their own might to solve the problems they faced.
And then Isaiah has a vision of God.
A holy, living, powerful God.
Not a safe and gentle friend, but a vision of the Lord upon a throne.
God’s presence is so great and beyond comprehension that just the hem of God’s robe fills the temple.
And there are winged creatures, seraphim, flying around shouting at one another:
“Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord of Heavenly Forces! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” (Isaiah 6:3)
As the room shakes and fills with smoke, Isaiah isn’t comforted and he doesn’t feel safe and secure… he is afraid for his very life.
“Mourn for me; I’m ruined” he cries out.
He sees just how unholy he is compared to God.
He sees just how unworthy his neighbors and his nation are.
And he knows that this wholly other and almighty God sees it all too.
But then this God does something unexpected.
God’s holiness draws close.
A glowing coal touches Isaiah’s lips and his sin and his guilt are gone.
But this isn’t just about Isaiah.
It isn’t just about one person encountering the holiness of God, repenting of their sin, and being forgiven.
The way some of our churches live out this story today, Isaiah would have gone home from this incredible experience, assured of his salvation, stay loosely connected with his faith community, and hold on to this memory when things were tough.
That’s how we too often treat faith, isn’t it?
But that isn’t the end of this story.
The voice of God thunders throughout that space asking… “Whom shall I send? Who will go?”
How will this world be transformed from a place of sin and death?
Who will call people to repentance and carry the message of love and forgiveness?
And forever transformed by his encounter with the holiness of God, Isaiah realizes he has a job to do.
It will be hard and messy and frustrating and full of joy and power and love.
But he takes up the call and allows God to send him back into the world to transform it.
You know, if I were to sum up the core of the gospel message that Jesus proclaims it just might be: God loves you, God forgives you, and God has a job for you.
Every day, in a thousand different ways, God is inviting us to participate in the reign of God’s kingdom.
God is asking, whom shall I send into this world to fulfill my reign and realm in this world?
And the church has stepped up to say, “Send us!”
Our Book of Discipline lays out for us our purpose:
“The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by proclaiming the good news of God’s grace and by exemplifying Jesus’ command to love God and neighbor, thus seeking the fulfillment of God’s reign and realm in the world.” (p. 93)
The text goes on to say that “whenever United Methodism has had a clear sense of mission, God has used our Church to save persons, heal relationships, transform social structures, and spread scriptural holiness, thereby changing the world. In order to be truly alive, we embrace Jesus’ mandate to love God and to love our neighbor and to make disciples of all peoples.” (p.94)
I just love that phrase… in order to truly be alive…
You see, we believe that when we encounter the holy, awesome, expansive, presence of God it changes us.
It transforms us from those who are dead in our sin into those who are alive in the Spirit.
It empowers and emboldens us to head out into the world not as ordinary people, but as servants of Christ.
In order for the church to be alive it needs to be actively engaged in this work as well.
What does this look like, practically speaking?
Well, we good old “methodical” United Methodists are pretty clear about the process for carrying out this mission and making disciples. And we hold one another accountable to this process by tracking and monitoring how well we do each year:
First, we need to proclaim the gospel! And this isn’t just about my sermons on Sunday mornings. It is about how all of us share the good news of Jesus in our daily lives.
It is about how we show the world that we love God and love our neighbors. Or as the Book of Discipline puts it, “the visible church of Christ as a faithful community of persons affirms the worth of all humanity and the value of interrelationship in all of God’s creation.” (¶124, p. 94)
We connect people to one another, we connect issues to our faith, and we connect all of it to God.
Each year in our statistical reports, we take note of how well we are doing in this area by reporting our church demographics and who we are reaching.
It probably isn’t much of a surprise to you, but the professing membership of our congregation is predominantly white and just over 60% female.
About 30% of our participants in Christian formation groups are children or youth and just 3% of our participants are between the ages of 19-30.
These kinds of statistics challenge our local church to think about how we might reach out to younger and more diverse people by building new relationships in our daily lives.
Second, we help our neighbors experience God’s grace as they repent and turn to faith in Jesus. Just as Isaiah confronted his own sin and received forgiveness, we proclaim a need for transformation in hearts and lives. One ofthe primary ways we do this is by sharing the message of God with people in our times of worship.
We talk about the sins and concerns of this world and God’s intentions for all the earth, we hear about the grace of God, and we give people the opportunity to respond.
And so every year, we keep track of how many people are worshipping with our faith community, and how many baptisms, professions of faith, and new members our church has witnessed.
In 2020, before the pandemic, our church had an average worship attendance of about 160. What has been amazing is that even throughout this difficult time, we have grown the number of people who worship with us each week. When you combine our in-person and online attendance, we have been reaching, on average, just over 180 people every Sunday!
In this past year, we welcomed five new people to our faith community, baptized two little ones, and are supporting twelve students as they go through the confirmation process.
The third thing that we believe the church does as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is help people to grow in their own Christian life. This happens in worship, for sure, but also in small groups, conversations, leadership opportunities, and the various places we share our gifts with one another and the world.
One of the biggest ways that we can see that our church is alive and continues to thrive is that even as we suspended some of our opportunities, we adapted and created new ways to grow.
We have studied scripture on Zoom, included younger folks in our brass group, brought in new leaders for Sunday school, continued to include those who moved away in online opportunities, and expanded teams to support and encourage our elders, our teachers, and our college students.
When you add up all of the individuals who have participated in some kind of ministry opportunity in this last year, 229 people have been nurtured in their faith through this church.
Fourth, we give people opportunities to say, “Here I am, send me!” As the Book of Discipline puts it, we “send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being and becoming and compassionate, caring presence, and working to develop social structures that are consistent with the gospel.” (¶122, p. 94)
Our call is to put faith and love into practice in real and tangible ways that make a difference for our neighbors and transform this world more into God’s realm each day.
As a church, we keep track of the number of folks who serve in mission and community ministries that our church sponsors… from Joppa, to Hawthorne Hill, to CFUM meals, to Trunk or Treat, and more. 131 members of this church actively engaged in this work… and we know so many of you are engaged beyond this church too in service and work of advocacy and justice.
Together, we try to not only see, but respond to the hungers that people experience in their lives… not just for food, but for safety, for healing, and for relationship.
And we do all these things not just once… but over and over again. In our work of putting faith and love into action, our witness continues to make disciples who will transform the world.
You know, I have to be honest.
In this season where the world is talking about the “Great Resignation” and the stretch and strain so many people are feeling, it is hard to get excited about recommitting and increasing our engagement with the church of Jesus.
Not only are we busy, but we are tired. And for all sorts of legitimate reasons.
One of the reasons we put God into that small little box is because we aren’t sure that we really can take on one more responsibility.
It seems easier to hold God at arms length… to focus only on the small differences God makes in your daily life… instead of worrying about anyone else.
But friends, the holy and awesome and terrifying power and presence of God is here!
The whole earth is full of God’s glory!
“Woe is me!” Isaiah cried out.
He was ready to die, give up, give in…
And the holy power of God gave him the ability to say, “Here I am… send me.”
And our church believes that in order to truly be alive… to be energized and empowered… then we have to let that burning coal of God’s love and mercy and grace touch our hearts.
We have to “embrace Jesus’ mandate to love God and to love our neighbor and to make disciples of all peoples.” (p. 94)
Take a moment to rest and rejuvenate your spirit…
But also know that the Holy Spirit is ready to set your heart and your life on fire.
And friends… the good news is that we don’t have to do this work alone.
Each one of us within this Body of Christ called Immanuel has a unique gift and role to play… whether it is praying, or leading, or giving of your resources, or doing the hands on tasks of ministry.
Here at Immanuel, we embrace this vision of discipleship. We believe that we follow Jesus as we connect with one another… as we worship and repent and confess our faith… as we grow in community… and as we go together to the world.
All of us, together, with God’s help… can not only be disciples… but make disciples… and transform this world.
