Sermon for Pentecost 12

The Audio can be found at: http://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/pentecost12-2013

The text follows:

I’m sure that 12 months ago, as it became clear that your pastor was retiring, no one said to you, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”  If it had been said, I’m willing to bet that you would not have been able to see into the future to see what life would be like today.  Oh there are some things that you would expect to happen.  We would still have an 8:15 service and a 10:30 service.  We would still have children’s church, we would still have the church picnic, and there would still be the ESL classes, the after-school program, the summer day camp, the visitations to the sick and the shut-ins.  The food bank would still be available for emergencies and on Fridays.  You just didn’t know who would be the pastor.

No one expected then that the furnace would slowly die during the middle of winter.  I found out this week that it was installed in 1988.  Twenty-five years of intense use by a seven day a week operation.  No one would have expected the kitchen stove to be replaced, even though there were those who knew that we had to plan for its replacement.  So there was a fund created to do some remodeling in the kitchen.  There is no doubt that we have been challenged.  But challenge does not necessarily lead to fear.

A long time ago, I came to the realization that I really didn’t control much.  The one item over which I had major control was my time.  I would waste my time, I could give it away [that is be a volunteer], I could sell it [ that is an interpretation of getting a job and being paid], but whatever you do with the one commodity over which you have control Time can be a statement of what is important to you.  Just a couple of weeks ago we heard the story of the Good Samaritan.  This gracious person took not only the time to care for a wounded person, but he shared his resources [the money she/he earned to support the injured during his recuperation.

 God has shown the way to be a giver.  Sometimes we take it for granted, but while the words may come easily out of our mouths, we have to remember the God did send his Son into the world to give new meaning to the phrase God is with us.  Even in our lessons for today we hear of the way that God continues to give “for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  We in turn are asked to be givers in the context of today’s lesson in the next verse,   “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Specifically, there seems to be a call to give to the poor.  Collectively we do that.  I loaded 9 boxes of food and supplies this past Thursday that were taken to the local food bank.  We have volunteers who serve those who come desiring food and supplies for their current needs. Then the following day the line started at the drive way and wound all the way back to the beginning of the steps to our main door for those seeking help from Philabundance.  I suppose I should have not been surprised to get a call asking for food and financial support.  The call got a little strange, when I asked where the caller lived.  After a couple of minutes of continuous description of his immediate need.  He said that he was in the panhandle that includes Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.  I shared with him the fact that there had to be someone closer to him than Upper Darby, PA. 

I know that our reputation goes far and wide, but we do try to concentrate our activity within walking or driving distance of the church.  But that does not mean that we will not receive challenges that seem beyond our means.  All the questions that have been asked of you over the last few weeks are an attempt to gather some impressions of what you believe we can handle, what we need to handle and most especially, what might we be open to do in the future that stretches us again, for our time and our talent and our resources.  I believe that our purses are made well, we know that God says that they should not wear out.

For much of the time in the seeking of a new pastor is looking at ourselves.  For the congregation, we the people are the center of the ministry.  The pastor will be a central part of the leadership, but it is the people of God who are the power behind the ministry.  Each week we prepare ourselves for a visit, but it is not often that we consciously think about Jesus coming to each of us in the meal we share at the table.  Each Sunday Jesus is present with us in the word and the sacrament.  As a friend of my says, coming to the table  “means receiving his coming to us”.

Whomever the congregation finds as a new pastor will be joining a congregation that is already involved in both finding themselves and connecting with God and Jesus, through prayer, worship, and the sacraments of the church.  Giving of yourselves in those environments, leads to giving of yourselves in the new challenges that will face the congregation as we move into the future, as God’s outpost on Walnut Street.  To God be the Glory in All we do….  AMEN.

Thanks to Brian Stoffregen for assistance.