To Whom?
1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43 John 6:56-69
Peter asked the question to which he
knew the answer…a question to which we know the answer. “To whom would we go?” At all times…and in all situations…for those
who call themselves Christians…the answer is Jesus Christ.
I’m going to ask you that question in
a different context in a few minutes…but let’s first look at Solomon. Solomon had a magnificent Temple built.
He was dedicating the Temple in the Scripture
we heard this morning. Solomon built the
Temple to continue the work of Yahweh as promised to David, Solomon’s
father. In his dedication prayer
Solomon spoke of God’s ultimate…total… sovereignty over both the land and the
people…all of the land and all of the people.
The Christian church that has grown from the
days of that Temple…including Jackson Grove United Methodist Church…has as its
calling…its job…to show the love and purpose of God for all creation. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul told the
church that God had planned a family through adoption in Jesus Christ…a family
that would do God’s will and praise his glory.
Over time God worked this out…to bring all things together in and through
Jesus Christ…the one to whom we can turn.
Hear this story about an artist who
was creating a painting of the Last Supper.
It was a great picture that took him many years. As the model for the face of Christ he used a
young man with a face of great beauty and purity. Bit by bit the picture was filled in. One after another the disciples were
painted. The day came when he needed a
model for Judas. He had left his face to
last.
The artist went out and searched in the lowest
haunts of the city and in the dens of sin.
At last he found a man with a face so depraved and vicious that it met
his requirements. When the sittings were
at an end the man said to the artist, “You painted me before.”
“Surely not,” said the artist.
“Oh, yes,” said the man, “I sat for
your Christ.”
The years had taken their toll on the man.
To whom…to what…had the man turned in
that time?
Do you sometimes wonder if the years
have taken their toll on we who call ourselves Christians? We may not have changed as radically as the
artist’s model…but we may have slowed down…may have become less willing to take
a risk on something or someone new…may have become complacent thinking of what
has been accomplished…and the struggles that have been overcome.
When Solomon finished preaching at the
temple that day…people went out to minister to others…to bring them to
God. Solomon did the same.
When Jackson Grove Methodist church
was organized in 1831…they didn’t just build a magnificent building…dedicate
the building and say job well done. It
wasn’t a building in which the members sequestered themselves for study and
worship. They opened the doors wide and
went out into the community to minister…to make disciples.
Following a fire…and all the trauma
and effort that goes with building a new sanctuary…on November 20th,
1994 there was a celebration in the sanctuary we are now in today…and a
dedication of several classrooms downstairs.
Today…those classrooms are unused.
Did complacency set in? Did we
think the job was done? Did we all watch
the movie “Field of Dreams?”….”If you build it they will come.”
Jesus told the disciples to eat the
bread and drink the wine…to take Jesus into them. They did.
With Jesus inside them…the disciples did as Jesus did…they took the Word
of God…and the Work of God to others…they took the Word of God…and the Work of
God…to others. They didn’t build a nice
building…and say “now they will come.”
Most of us here today…just three weeks
ago…ate the bread and drank the wine…took Jesus inside us. We asked the Spirit…Jesus within us…to make
us one with each other and one in ministry to all the world…to all the world.
To whom do we go to make this
happen?
The first answer…of course…is Jesus
Christ. He has given us the Spirit to
guide us in this effort. That’s the
obvious answer. That’s the answer to Peter’s question.
The next answer for the question…to whom do we
go…is found in the mirror. That person
in the mirror can most clearly tell each of us what we have been doing…speaking
and thinking…to be in ministry that shows Christ is inside us. What is that person telling us?
There are many answers to the question…to whom
do we go…to perform this ministry. Some
are engaged in visiting the sick and shut-in.
Many give to the orphanage at Epworth.
Some are involved in and support the Kairos prison ministry and the
North Greenville Food Crisis center.
There are many more opportunities…that are
easily executed.
To whom can you go…and honestly say…”We’ve been
missing you in church….we’ve got a new minister…I like him…I think you will,
too…please join us in worship again soon?
You know who that is. And, if you
can’t honestly say it…please tell me.
To whom can you go…and say “I’ve been blessed
with another day” when they greet you and ask how you’re doing? We probably have that opportunity daily. Are we showing them Jesus inside us?
To whom can you go…and say, “Have a blessed
day,” when your encounter with them is over?
To whom can you go…and say, “I’ve been
blessed…” when there is good news to share?
To whom can you go…and say, “I’m having this
difficulty…but God will take me through it?”
To whom can you go…and offer a helping hand…or
a word of praise…in a way that shows them Jesus inside of you?
Over the next few weeks there will be committee
meetings and reports to complete as we prepare for the annual charge conference…the
church’s annual business meeting. Some
may see it as drudgery. Let us take this
opportunity to celebrate the ministries in which we are involved…and to
honestly evaluate how well we are answering the question to whom can we go…to show them Jesus inside us…inside us
individually and collectively as the body of Christ…and more importantly…to
whom can we go…to help them take Jesus inside them?
Let us not only evaluate our current
ministry. Let us listen to those with
whom we come in contact to find a meaningful ministry…or ministries…to add…that
will bring others to Jesus…and others to Jackson Grove United Methodist
Church. Let us ask how we can
effectively and boldly use our time…talent and treasure…to show the Jesus
inside us. Let us not be about sitting
on our time…talent and treasure…because we are tired or uncertain…or have been
disappointed in the past.
I had lunch with a dear friend Friday. Her church is preparing for a celebration of
its 175th year. She is the
church historian and has been working on updating the church’s history since
its last milestone celebration…its 150th year. It’s a reasonably large church in the center
of a medium size community. I asked her
what stood out to her in her research.
She said there were two things. One was the people that God had sent to them
to assist in building their ministry…a woman who had never before been involved
in leading Christian education activities…other than teaching an elementary
level Sunday School class…who is now organizing and leading the activities of
the teachers of nearly 20 Sunday School classes as well as educational
workshops for the whole church…and the church’s first female minister…a woman
who has shown great skills in the pulpit and in her role as pastor…greater
skills than many of the men who preceded her.
The other thing that my friend said stood
out…was the strength, wisdom and faith God gave the people of the church…the
Jesus inside them. It was that strength,
wisdom and faith…Jesus inside them…that opened their hearts and minds to the
gifts God had given them. It was that
strength…wisdom and faith…Jesus inside them…that took the people out of the
comfort and security of the walls of the church to reach out to their community…growing
the ministry of that old church.
Over the next few weeks…as we meet to prepare
the reports and forms for the charge conference…as we prepare for the Lord’s
Acre celebration…as we prepare for the expectation of Advent and celebrate the
joy of Christmas…let us remember that in just 16 years our congregation will be
celebrating its bicentennial…200 years of existence…worship and service. Let us ponder what it is that Emily Moody…Sara
Turner…and their peers…the next generation of leaders…will be writing as they
update the history of Jackson Grove United Methodist Church for the grand
celebration. Let our first new year’s
activity be to plan boldly to shape the answer.
Acting…in answer to the question…to whom will
we go…today…and every day…in all of that question’s forms…will be the beginning
of creating that plan.