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SERMON Wednesday. December 10, 2003,
bishop keith l. ackerman
Blessing of the church
1Therefore,
rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander
of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you
have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but
chosen by God and precious to him-- 5you also, like living
stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For
in Scripture it says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious
cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame."[1]
7Now to
you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone,[2]
"[3]
8and,
"A stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them
fall."
[4] They
stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were
destined for.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who
called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you
were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (I
Peter 2:1-10)
I am originally from
Pennsylvania, as some of you know.
The symbol of that state is the keystone. Pennsylvania was known as the keystone state, as it was said
that if Pennsylvania were to fall, all of the other colonies would follow.
There is also a keystone in an
arch. The keystone is at the apex
of the arch and keeps the arch intact. If you remove the keystone, the arch collapses. Now if the arch is a bridge between
two places and you remove the keystone, you will have to walk through the
rubble of the collapsed arch to get from one place to another. The keystone, which works well
while in place in the arch, becomes a stumbling block if it falls to the
ground
In the second chapter of his
first letter, Peter refers to Jesus as a stumbling block – “a stone that
causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” We aren’t used to thinking of Jesus
as a stumbling block!
The stumbling block comes when
Jesus calls us to do things we don’t really want to do. Look at yourself and your life
today. Are there things you
are doing that would amaze the people you grew up with? Are there people from your past who
would find it difficult to believe some of the things you are doing at work
or in your home life? Do these
things surprise you? I know
that one of the things I feared most was that some day I’d get up to
preach, and after I said, “In the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Ghost” I wouldn’t have anything else to say!
God calls us out of our comfort
zones and beyond our capabilities.
It is not important to know what I can do; what’s important is what
Jesus can do through me. When
Jesus calls us to a task, He provides the grace for us to be able to
accomplish that task.
In the Episcopal Church we are
known not to rush in to new things or new territory. In fact, by the time the
Episcopalians agree that an area might be a good place to move, all the
good property is taken, and all the easily-located addresses are
unavailable. I have been
tempted to say that our signs should read, “The Episcopal Church welcomes
you (if you can find us!)”
You are on the cutting
edge. You are moving into new
territory. In this property
around us, in this area, how many times has Jesus Christ been glorified? Starting last Sunday, we know that
now He will be glorified here at least once a week! Another area is going to be
sanctified by Jesus Christ, because we have put our feet there.
Missions is putting our feet
where Jesus calls. Jesus doesn’t
generally call those who are fit – He usually makes fit those whom He
calls!
What we want here is growth –
an attendance of 1000 at our Sunday services, in the next two years.
What does Jesus want?
The church is disciples making disciples. The churches to whom Paul wrote
were small churches. There
congregations had just a handful of people, initially. Some folk get e-mail from more
people in an hour than Paul wrote to in his lifetime! So size isn’t the most important
measure of a church.
What things prevent growth of a
church?
o
Lack of vision
o
Lack of discipleship
o
Lack of the desire to be disciples
o
Lack of desire and willingness to make disciples of others
Jesus calls us to take the
words of the Great Commission seriously: 18Then Jesus came to
them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in[1]
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt.
28:18-20) If this is
something we are not willing to do, then Jesus becomes a stumbling block to
us.
The church at her best doesn’t
follow the population growth.
The church at her best anticipates growth and stands with open arms
to receive the people. You are
the new “Welcome Wagons” of this area. Let the community know that we are here with open arms
to receive people. Let people
know we are here!
During Advent we anticipate the
birth of Jesus. This church in
this location is also a new birth.
As Anglicans, we have a lot to offer.
o
There is the sense of history of the faith – we trace our faith
back to the Apostles.
o
There is a love for the Word and Sacrament.
o
We are specific in our understanding of incarnational
theology. Jesus can redeem and
transform nature and He can redeem and transform human nature.
We are to receive people so
that they can become more and more like Jesus Christ. Your patron saint is St.
Francis. Francis looked at the
likeness of Christ and was transformed through seeing Christ. St. Francis made the first crèche because
he believed that those who saw Christ would be transformed. Francis wanted Jesus to be alive
for everyone.
St. Francis church means that
you make Jesus come alive for the people around here. You make Him real for the people
who don’t know Him.
Accept the challenge to BE
disciples MAKING disciples!
This is not an end – it is the continuation of St. Francis Church,
since the church is the people and not the building. It is a new beginning as well. Together, we claim this area for
Jesus Christ!
Interpretation and
suggestions are by Ruth Holmes, who is solely responsible for them.
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