Text: Psalm 98: 7-9, Luke 15:3-6, 8-9, 11-13, 20, 24, 28, 31<\/p>\n
Every year, our congregation has a charge conference. It is our annual meeting to elect leadership, set goals for the future, care for those called into ministry, and more.
\nAnd it\u2019s happening in just one week!
\nNext Sunday, November 1, we will have our charge conference online at 2:00pm. There will be a link on our website to join in, so be sure to check out the details and join us!<\/p>\n
As we have been preparing for this meeting, I met with our Administrative Council Leadership and I asked them a question:
\nDo we have a future?
\nNow, that might seem to be kind of a stark and sobering question, but to be honest, there are churches out there that simply aren\u2019t going to make it.
\nDavid Kinnaman with the Barna Group says that their research shows one in five churches are not likely to make it through this pandemic.
\nThere are disruptions related to giving, the numbers who are able to gather, but also a lack of adaptation to the realities that are around us. I know of at least one congregation that simply has done nothing together as the church since mid-March. They have no online presence. They aren\u2019t meeting outside. They are simply doing nothing.
\nSo, do we believe we have a future?
\nIs Immanuel United Methodist Church going to make it?
\nWhen I asked that question in our Zoom Council meeting, someone immediately responded:
\n100% YES!
\nIn fact, the energy level of our meeting rose as people got excited thinking about that future.
\nWe talked about how we are providing connection and spiritual growth and it is something that people need now more than ever.
\nWe talked about how new people have joined us online and during our evening vespers services and at our Zoo Day and how we are actually expanding our reach.
\nWe were energized by the idea that what we are learning how to do together now is actually strengthening us for the ministry that God has planned for us.<\/p>\n
You know, for months we have been focused on the moment\u2026.
\nThis next week\u2026.
\nWhat we can do right now\u2026.
\nAnalyzing the data so we can make the healthiest choices to do no harm\u2026.
\nWe have changed on the fly\u2026.
\nWe have created what is necessary to keep going\u2026
\nAnd all along the way we have been trying to pay attention to who we are leaving out and missing and how we can do better.<\/p>\n
When we were able to step back and step out of the fray of what is happening right now and look to the future, we were surprised by the sense of clarity and focus we had.
\nBecause more than anything, this whole pandemic has helped us to home in on what is really essential and what is really important.
\nYou see, there is a lot that we could do as a church, but there are really only a few things that we need to do:
\n\u2022\tKeep our eyes on God who made us.
\n\u2022\tHelp people to know that they are not alone and that they are loved.
\n\u2022\tLearn and share the good news of Jesus.
\n\u2022\tLive out our faith by doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly.
\nWe realized as we talked that not only are we doing those things, but we are actually doing them pretty well.
\nAnd we began to shift our mindset to realize that this is a season that we could see growth!
\nNot just growth in our numbers of people, but also growth in our love and knowledge of God.
\nGrowth in our ability to respond to issues of injustice.
\nGrowth in the ways we reach out to people that have been left out or disconnected.<\/p>\n
And for the first time in a long time, it seemed like we really and truly had something to celebrate and be excited about!<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve been reading through Psalm 98 these past couple of weeks and today the end of the Psalm reminds us why we are rejoicing with all of creation.
\nIt is because God is establishing justice on the earth.
\nSo much feels troubled and broken, but the God who created it all is setting things right.
\nGod sees the problems of this world and shows us a better way.
\nGod calls us and equips us to be generous and loving and merciful and kind and honest so that all people\u2026 all the world\u2026 might be set right again.
\nI think part of the reason we have cause to celebrate is that what we see all around is that we actually have been following Jesus during this time.
\nWe\u2019re reaching out to the lonely and sharing our abundance with others and speaking the truth about the problems of this world and trying our best to respond with love and kindness.
\nWe see evidence of how God is working through us to establish God\u2019s will, God\u2019s justice, right here and right now.
\nAnd the whole world rejoices along with God!<\/p>\n
I was thinking about this idea of God\u2019s justice and celebration and rejoicing when I read the parables of the lost in Luke chapter 15.
\nSo often, we talk about them as if the lost coin, or the lost sheep, or the lost son were at fault in the situation. They rolled off or wandered away and when they repent or return home or are found, the rejoicing commences.
\nBut New Testament scholar, A-J Levine invites us to flip the parable.
\nWhat if these instead stories were titled \u201cThe Shepherd Who Lost His Sheep\u201d or \u201cThe Woman Who Lost Her Coin\u201d? \u201cThe Father who Lost A Son\u201d?
\nWhat if they are actually about the one doing the losing?
\nWe might start to ask questions about whether or not we are paying attention to the people around us in our care.
\nDo we count who is present?
\nDo we notice who or what we have lost?
\nWill we make an effort to reach out and find them?<\/p>\n
You know, this really came home to me when I thought in particular about that last parable of the father with two sons.
\nWe always think about the first child who runs away and the great rejoicing and party when he is found.
\nBut the second son is lost as well, right?
\nHe is missing from the party.
\nThe father in this story notices.
\nHe runs out of the house and into the fields and meets him there.
\nThe father begs for him to come in.
\nAnd the father reassures him: I love you. You belong to me and I belong to you.<\/p>\n
That is what God does.
\nGod knows who you are.
\nGod sees who is missing and what isn\u2019t working.
\nGod\u2019s heart breaks at the injustice and the disconnection and the harm we do.
\nAnd there is no length that God will not go\u2026
\nNo mountain God won\u2019t climb\u2026
\nNo wall God won\u2019t kick down\u2026
\nNothing that will keep God from establishing justice, wholeness, shalom, from making sure that God\u2019s intentions are fully lived out on this earth.
\nNothing can separate us, right?<\/p>\n
And when even just one of us turns our hearts back to God\u2026
\nor lets ourselves be found\u2026
\nor experiences healing\u2026
\nor is lifted out of our troubles\u2026
\nor finds food and shelter or warmth\u2026
\noh\u2026 how the world rejoices\u2026
\nHow the rivers clap their hands\u2026
\nHow the sea roars\u2026
\nHow the mountains and hills sing together for joy\u2026
\nWhat a day of rejoicing\u2026<\/p>\n
This church has a future.
\nAnd we have a future because we continue to keep our eyes on the God who made us through worship and devotion and prayer.
\nWe have a future because we are paying attention to one another and we count and notice who is part of our community and are doing our best to reach out to help people know they are not alone and that they are loved.
\nWe have a future because we keep the good news of Jesus at the center and we are learning and growing and putting that faith into action every day.
\nWe have a future because we notice who and what is missing and we try to respond with food in our pantry and warm clothes for Joppa and by showing up at rallies in support of our neighbors\u2026 so that God\u2019s justice, God\u2019s intentions, God\u2019s will might be done on earth.<\/p>\n
Friends, there is a reason that our Ad Council got excited on that Zoom call.
\nIt\u2019s because when you see signs of the Kingdom of God, you have to rejoice.
\nWhen the lost are found, and the hungry are fed, and the sinners repent, and the lonely are surrounded with love\u2026 the whole world breaks out in song.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m so grateful for all of you.
\nI\u2019m so proud of who you have been as the church in the midst of this difficult time.
\nAnd oh, how I can\u2019t wait for that day when we can all get together\u2026 for real\u2026 with hugs and food and smiles and songs to celebrate in a fully embodied way all of the joy that is just welling up in my heart.
\nWhat a day of rejoicing that will be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Psalm 98: 7-9, Luke 15:3-6, 8-9, 11-13, 20, 24, 28, 31 Every year, our congregation has a charge conference. It is our annual meeting to elect leadership, set goals for the future, care for those called into ministry, and more. And it\u2019s happening in just one week! Next Sunday, November 1, we will have…<\/span><\/p>\n