One
year ago today I officially became your rector.
In my first Sunday sermon I asked you to respond with me to the
invitation of Jesus to “Come and see.” I
reminded you that we are invited to dance with a savior who will step into our
lives and our very hearts, shake everything up, and in the midst of that dance,
call us. The last year has been full of
many steps and a few missteps, yet what a dance this has been.
We
have said goodbye to beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who were called
home or called in new directions. We
have said hello to new brothers and sisters who have become beloved. We have visited with and been visited by
brothers and sisters whose path took them to new places or shared a stop on
their way home.
We
have prayed together, played together, shared holy meals together, sang
together, cried together, laughed together, fussed at one another, supported
one another, and continued to grow together in our relationship with God and
each other.
The
journey has not always been an easy one and sometimes our dance has resulted in
us stepping on one another’s toes. That
is part of learning a new dance. Each of
us comes with our view of what the right steps are and sometimes those steps
result in a change in the dance.
Sometimes we have to take a break, rest, and start the dance again in a
different way.
The
good news is that we are a people who believe in grace. There have been times we have had to say, “I
am sorry,” or “I accept your apology.”
Those are hard words and yet necessary in the life of the church. Much like a dance in time we begin to move
more fluidly together as we let Christ be in the center rather than try to
wrest control ourselves.
Our
lectionary now places us at the beginning of the Gospel of John. We see Jesus inviting Phillip to “follow
me.” That invitation is for us too. We have had the chance to come and see and
now we are called to take that next step.
To actively respond to the invitation to follow Jesus.
Phillip
immediately goes and tells Nathaniel about Jesus. When Nathaniel questions him Phillip’s reply
is to “come and see.” And they go to
find Jesus again. Their dance takes them
into new life.
The
calling of Samuel is a story familiar to many of us. We usually focus on the response of Samuel to
God, “here am I.” Yet remember at first
Samuel was confused and keeps going to Eli.
It is to Eli he says, here am i.
Samuel is unaware that the one calling is God. It is not until Eli realizes that it is God
speaking that Samuel is able to respond to God’s call. It is then that Samuel says, “speak for your
servant is listening.”
Just
as Samuel needed the wisdom of Eli, we need the wisdom of those who have gone
before us in the place, the saints that have helped to make this part of the
body of Christ what it is today. We need
to remember the steps of the dance they have shared with us. We learn from their example as well as their
missteps. We carry on the dance which
began on that St. Mary Magdalene day over 130 years ago.
We
need to listen for and discern God’s call for us today. What does it mean for us as a worshiping
community to follow Jesus? How are we
being called to live that out with and for one another and the communities in
which we live, work, study, shop, and play?
This
next year will be a lean one in terms of budgets and pledges, yet that does not
mean we limit our response to share the Good News of God in Christ. It may mean we do so in creative ways as we
use our resources wisely. It may also
mean that we discern more carefully how we share our gifts and talents with the
world.
So
rather than spend money we don’t have on curriculum, can we continue to rely on
the gifts and talents of those teaching to develop Sunday school programs that
fit the needs of our children?
Can
we do Bible studies relying on our Bibles rather than a program?
Can
we make materials needed for worship as an act of prayer rather than purchase
them?
What
would our altar look like on the weeks no one signs up for flowers if we
brought them from our gardens at home? What if we planted a garden here?
What
would it be like to listen to the Word of God rather than follow a written
sheet?
What
would it be like if rather than pay an electric bill for those in need, we
worked with others to transform lives?
There
are many more questions I could pose, but I will leave you to ponder some
creative responses to how we move into this phase of the dance. I will rely on you to listen to how God is
calling you to share your gifts and talents in the year to come, how you hear
God calling us.
And
while we each discern how that is lived out, the good news is we do not do this
as individuals, but rather as the Body of Christ lived out in this place we
call home. We do this as we continue to
grow together in our understanding of how to love God and love our
neighbor. We do this as we respond to
the invitation to “follow me.” We do
this as we continue to learn to dance with our Lord and with one another. There will still be times we may step on one
another’s toes, yet there will be more times when our dance becomes fluid and
more intricate.
We
do this as Samuel did by saying, “Speak for your servants are listening.”
