This sermon is going to be different from any sermon I’ve
preached for you. Really, it’s going to
be different than any sermon I’ve ever preached for anyone. ‘I have preached sermons for the last time in
a few places, as a lay speaker. Actually
many times the first sermon was also the last.
I have never knowingly preached a farewell sermon. I don’t know how to do that. When I don’t know how to do something I look
to see how such things may be presented in the Bible. Well either that or I google it. Google did well for me in teaching me how to
keep a campfire lit, how to set up my tent, how to quickly set up and tear down
an EZ up….but it wasn’t very much help with this task so I turned to the Bible
for help with this one, thus the two scriptures I picked out this morning: Moses’ farewell to Israel and Jesus’ farewell
prayer for his followers. I do not claim
to be anywhere close to the holiness of either of these men-but they do know
how to give a good farewell, so I am borrowing from them to bid you
farewell.
I begin with Jesus.
“The time has come.” Of course
Jesus is saying the time has come for him to leave this World. God willing, that is not the case for
me. The time, for me, has come has come
as a united to Methodist Minister, to itinerate to the next place the Bishop
has discerned could benefit from my gifts and graces. When the Bishop calls I must get on my horse
or in this day in my KIA, and go. I am
looking forward to this, to being able to proclaim the good news of God’s love
to another community, and to do so every week.
However, I am keenly aware that looking forward is only possible because
of the trust and faith you placed in me.
I walked into this church for the first time about 5 or 6
years ago. I remember Mabel being here
and Opal Lee. Jim and Marilyn were the
first people I met. I remember Marilyn
asking me if I wanted my check made out to the Gideons. She thought I was speaking for the
Gideons. Unfortunately I’m afraid I
don’t meet the eligibility requirements to be a Gideon. I googled it, just to make sure. Nope, I don’t have the right plumbing. Then I met Charlie who let me know he
couldn’t do two things at once so I would need to lead the whole service. So, it was here, in this pulpit that I led me
first full service. Here is what I
remember most about that first visit.
Friends of mine visited here that morning and as I was teaching Sunday
School back at Long’s Chapel, my friend brought up how much her children
enjoyed the service. Believe it or not
their enjoyment had NOTHING to do with the wonderful sermon I preached, or the
way I led the congregation in Worship or the beautiful benediction I gave. No, their enjoyment had to do with lollipops,
lollipops given by Ms. Jane and hugs given by many of you in the
congregation. It had to do with having
that intergenerational contact and relationship. That kind of thing can get lost in large
churches when it’s very easy for age groups to get Siloed and for a child to
never meet a person over the age of 50 much less have a relationship with
them. So guess what? My friend began intentionally seeking
intergenerational opportunities not just for her kids but for all Long’s Chapel
Families. Do you see what I’m telling
you Long’s? The Love of God that you
shared on one particular Sunday morning, through the giving of lollipops and a
few hugs as you shared the peace of Christ sparked an entire ministry in
another church a few miles down the road.
Who knows how many lives have been touched and transformed by that! You
AMAZE ME!!!!!
Not only do you amaze and inspire me but you have
equipped me and empowered me. Jesus says
of his disciples in verses 6-8: “
6 “I
have revealed your name to
the people you gave me from this world.
They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that
everything you have given me comes from you. 8 This is because I gave them the words that you gave me, and they
received them. They truly understood that I came from you, and they believed
that you sent me.[1]
I say the same of you. You believed that I have been gifted and sent
by God. It is because of that trust that
I am a certified candidate for ministry.
It is because of that trust that I continue to be a licensed local
pastor. It is because of that truth that
I am enabled to make my life’s work the proclaiming of the Good News of God’s
love to those persons who have felt rejected, ostracized and orphaned by the
church. Imagine the number of lives that
may be transformed by yet again one simple act made by this congregation.
It is because of these things, and
out of my deep love for you that I will continue to pray for you every day, just
as Jesus prayed for his followers:
“Watch over them in God’s name.”
(vs. 9) “Keep them safe from evil, (vs. 15) and “Make them Holy in
truth, your word is truth.” (vs. 17)
Not only will I pray for you as
Jesus did his followers but I will also pray as Jesus did “for those who will
believe because of you.” My friends if
you remember nothing else about me or what I teach and preach I pray that you
remember “
Thy Kingdom Com on Earth as it is in heaven.” We are not to wait for death to experience God’s Kingdom-the reign of God’s love. We can and do experience it right here and right now. The Christian life is meant to be lived in community and I’m not talking about the people inside the walls of this church building. I am talking about what happens when we leave the four walls of this building and carry what we experience in here-out there. I wrote this sermon sitting beside a camp fire. (For those of you who follow me on face book you’ve been waiting to see where the fire was going to come in…well here it is.) I was able to keep that fire going for over 5 hours. Here are some things I noticed. First: To keep the fire going I had to add new logs. When I first began preaching as a lay speaker here I would inevitably overhear conversations from the Sunday school room or from the front steps that went something like this: “What are we going to do about our little church?” “Do you think they will let us stay open?” “I’m afraid they are going to shut our doors.” I heard it almost every time. But, you know what? I haven’t heard those conversations in the last couple of years. You’ve added some logs. How did you add those logs? David and I came because we had experienced your love and you were a mile from our house. Sandy, Marie and the kids came because it was an intimate church, close to home and Sandy had visited once before and enjoyed the love she felt in this place. Chris and Natasha came because they had a relationship with Charlie and when they were struggling and looking for God, looking for hope in what seemed hopeless times- they came here, and they stayed, until they moved, because you showed them love. Delcie and Hayley are here, well because Charlie fell in Love. All kidding aside though, I imagine she stays because of the relationships that have been extended to her in this place. Mary and Molly came because they knew Sandy and Marie. Sandy and Marie had spread the good news of what happens in this place. What is it that happens in this place? Relationships happen, love happens, community happens. That is how you add logs. Keep doing it!
Thy Kingdom Com on Earth as it is in heaven.” We are not to wait for death to experience God’s Kingdom-the reign of God’s love. We can and do experience it right here and right now. The Christian life is meant to be lived in community and I’m not talking about the people inside the walls of this church building. I am talking about what happens when we leave the four walls of this building and carry what we experience in here-out there. I wrote this sermon sitting beside a camp fire. (For those of you who follow me on face book you’ve been waiting to see where the fire was going to come in…well here it is.) I was able to keep that fire going for over 5 hours. Here are some things I noticed. First: To keep the fire going I had to add new logs. When I first began preaching as a lay speaker here I would inevitably overhear conversations from the Sunday school room or from the front steps that went something like this: “What are we going to do about our little church?” “Do you think they will let us stay open?” “I’m afraid they are going to shut our doors.” I heard it almost every time. But, you know what? I haven’t heard those conversations in the last couple of years. You’ve added some logs. How did you add those logs? David and I came because we had experienced your love and you were a mile from our house. Sandy, Marie and the kids came because it was an intimate church, close to home and Sandy had visited once before and enjoyed the love she felt in this place. Chris and Natasha came because they had a relationship with Charlie and when they were struggling and looking for God, looking for hope in what seemed hopeless times- they came here, and they stayed, until they moved, because you showed them love. Delcie and Hayley are here, well because Charlie fell in Love. All kidding aside though, I imagine she stays because of the relationships that have been extended to her in this place. Mary and Molly came because they knew Sandy and Marie. Sandy and Marie had spread the good news of what happens in this place. What is it that happens in this place? Relationships happen, love happens, community happens. That is how you add logs. Keep doing it!
The second thing I noticed about the
fire is that sometimes I would think the fire was over, it was about to burn
out. There were just a few embers
left. Then I would see a whole new flame
strike out. This would happen when a
piece of log that had strayed away from the fire or that the fire had strayed
away from would be touched by an ember from a nearby log and would catch on
fire all over again. It has done my
heart good to experience Louise in this space over the last several weeks. I only met Louise at Easter time. Oh how I enjoyed by visit with her. A few
weeks later she was back among us.
Why? She was back among us
because she was touch by the ember of another log when Marilyn called her and
as they talked Louise shared her longing to be back in church. Marilyn offered to pick her up, and here she
is back among us. You must encourage
each other to keep the fire going. You
must take note when people stray away.
Find out what is keeping them at home.
There might just be something you can do to remove that obstacle.
So I pray. I pray for all those people yet to come but
who will come because you’ve built relationships, you’ve shared the good news
and you’ve removed obstacles that prevent people from coming. I pray that people will be added and as they
are you all are one just as Christ is one with God.
Finally, Jesus says I wish you could
go with me. Jesus did not want to leave
his disciples behind. I wish I could
take every one of you, Rennie too, with me.
I wish you could see and experience the fruits of your investment. I can’t take you with me though. There is work to be done right here and you
are the laborers for that work!
Before Moses left Israel he gave a
long speech in which he gave a blessing to each tribe of Israel. I considered doing that this morning with
each household represented here. But
time is an obstacle for that-so instead be watching the mail in the next couple
of weeks for your blessing. In the
meantime let me just say may God Bless you and Keep you. May your fires continue to burn bright as you
work in this community to bring God’s Kingdom to earth. I Love you all. In the name of the father, the son and the Holy
Spirit, Amen.
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