One Person, One Body, One Team: A Sermon for the 13th Sunday After Pentecost

Photo Credit: Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

 

I’m a pretty big Winnipeg Jets and Blue Bombers fan. I used to watch as many hockey games as possible on TV and we’re Bomber season ticket holders. When I was a kid, we would go to my uncle’s house every Saturday to watch Hockey Night in Canada. Football is still on every week, but while I don’t watch much hockey anymore, when it comes to playoff season, I’ll try to find a way to fit a few into my schedule.

 

One of my favorite parts was watching the interviews, especially after big wins like the Stanley Cup or the Grey Cup. Everyone was so excited and happy. And almost every person interviewed would praise their teammates. Even when the reporter would ask about a goal or catch or touchdown that the player got, it was always “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates”, or “we won this game as a team”, or “it was a team effort.” In my opinion, the best teams are the ones who are there for each other. The teams where when one player is struggling, another one picks up their play. The teams where each person has their unique gift, is supported by their teammates, and are missed when they aren’t there. The other thing that makes a team great is when they are involved in their community. We often hear stories of athletes being involved in their community. Whether it’s visiting children’s hospitals, donating money to military veterans, or having a pickup game with neighbour kids.

 

Paul says that this is what the church is supposed to be like. The book of Romans can be divided into two parts: a theological explanation of the gospel for the first 11 chapters and a series of ethical exhortations for the rest of the letter. At the end of chapter 11, Paul reflects on God’s mysterious, fixed purpose and great mercies for all people. In response, he broke into doxology, expressing his praise to God. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.” (11:36) But the letter doesn’t end there. Paul introduces new content as he brings the story of Christ’s redemption to bear on the life of the believer in tangible and practical ways.

 

As we head into chapter 12, Paul calls his audience to respond to God’s great mercies not simply in doxology, but with a living sacrifice. Pulling on the language that giving a sacrifice to God was a typical piece of worship during Paul’s time, he is telling us that we are now to be that sacrifice. Not by offering ourselves in death at the altar, but by giving ourselves fully and wholly to God. More than just spiritual worship, Paul is calling us to bodily worship. Paul exhorts his audience to present their bodies and reminds them that they are one body in Christ with many members.

 

In the last part of today’s reading, Paul emphasizes that while we are one body with many members, not all members have the same function. We are all individuals with unique attributes and gifts that, when put together, become the amazing body of Christ. We might be teachers or prophets or caregivers or leaders or followers. No matter our gift, we are all an important piece of the puzzle, important cogs in the machine that we call “church”.

 

We are a team. We are “Team Church”. Like in the CFL, we meet once a week to do the thing we do. We gather in one spot. We read some lessons. We hear a sermon. We sing some music. We receive a blessing. And then we go home. And there is nothing wrong with that! I have always called Sunday worship a resetting for the week. It is powerful and meaningful. All of the things we do each week is meant to be a communal reminder, a re-orientation, and a loving accountability which brings us back to the way of Jesus. But then what? Is this full-bodied worship? Is that being the body of Christ?

 

We call the body of Christ “church” but that doesn’t mean the individual buildings. Talking about church as the body of Christ is talking about the people, the believers, who collectively form the church. Being the body of Christ means to be united under his name, unified members working together to keep being what Jesus called us to be from the very beginning – God’s beloved people.

 

For Paul, this full-bodied worship is not an activity but a way of being, a way of living in full relationship to God and each other through the way of Jesus Christ. This full-bodied worship happens in the community as we live out our faith by serving one another to build up the body of Christ. The quality of our worship is not measured by what happens on Sunday mornings, but by what happens when we are out in our community from Monday through Saturday. Paul’s worship of Christ wasn’t confined to a building, so why should ours be?

 

The western church has long enjoyed a privileged place as an institution. However, the church was never meant to be just an institution. It was meant to be a community of forgiveness and love and generosity. Almost across the board, church buildings are starting to empty. Where people used to walk to church in droves, they are now driving in small groups. The meaning of being in the building is fading away. But that doesn’t mean the team is breaking up! It just means things look differently than they did before. The church is being reborn into what was always meant to be – a group of people doing things that puts us outside the norms of behaviour for our society.

 

We are being called to change, to discern what this new body of Christ will look like. We need to wrap our minds around what we do day to day in our lives that expresses God’s will. Now, more than ever, we will need to lean on each other, help each other discern our gifts, and find new ways to serve God as a living sacrifice.

 

So, what did Paul mean when he spoke about full-bodied worship? It means worship as acts of service for others done in the name of Christ. It means moving beyond the sanctuary into the streets. It means acts of kindness extended to others. It means helping those in need rise above the barriers of the education system or health system. It means giving resources to help improve the quality of life for someone.

 

None of us are perfect but we all are part of one body and one team. We are team church! The church that is a group of people and communities gathered by the grace and mercy of God who loves us freely and ferociously. The church that is meant to be a body giving Christ a face and voice and hands and feet to the world. The church that truly offers ourselves for service to others in the name of Christ.

 

Amen.

The Path to New Beginnings: A Sermon for the 12th Sunday After Pentecost

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

 

A colleague of mine once likened the Book of Genesis to a TV drama and I think she hit the nail on the head! The drama! The relationships! The action! All of these lead to some exciting reading, even if we don’t necessarily understand it all. So as they say, here are some scenes from last week’s episode.

 

Joseph, shunned and hated by his brothers, is beaten and thrown into a dry well. The brothers stand guard while deciding what to do with him. Will they murder him? Will they leave him to die at nature’s hands? Along comes a caravan and they have their answer! They will sell him to the Egyptians!

 

What would you do if these were your brothers and you were the one first left to die and then sold off like a piece of old unwanted furniture? Revenge seems sweet, doesn’t it?

 

Previous to today’s readings, Joseph did start to take revenge by doing some rotten things like holding his brother Simeon hostage as well as their share of grain in exchange for having the youngest, Benjamin, brought to him. And then framing Benjamin for theft so that all the brothers travelling with Benjamin would be forced to come back to him.

 

Finally, Joseph couldn’t handle it any longer and he ordered all the Egyptians out of the room, so he was alone with his brothers. He then revealed his true identity to them, and what was his first question of them? “How is my father?” Joseph was overwhelmed with emotion and wanted to know how his family had been doing.

 

Now, Joseph is the most important person in all of Egypt, save for Pharaoh himself. He could crush his brothers. He could torture them. He could really teach them a lesson. Instead, he tells them not to worry, it wasn’t them who did all that to him, it was God sending him to Egypt.

 

What faith it takes to utter such words. I’m not sure I could muster it. What would you do if you were in Joseph’s shoes, powerful enough to commit the most heinous acts of revenge? Instead of crushing them like bugs, Joseph tells his brothers that God has sent him ahead to ensure that his family, as well as others, are saved from famine.

 

Joseph is able to look upon the hardest days of his life and see the hand of God working for Joseph and all of God’s people. He’s able to look upon the awful experience of being forsaken by family, sold as a slave, and subsequently exploited and plunged into jail as God moving mightily to save God’s people and all the people of that corner of the world from famine.

 

Those years which Joseph spent in slavery and prison could have been the occasion for a slow burn that might have ignited into an explosion of anger at the sight of his brothers. How angry Joseph could have been with God for getting him into such a situation! But Joseph recognized that God was with him in his sufferings and that these were from the loving hand of a sovereign God.

 

Joseph could have been angry with his brothers, who had callously sold him into slavery. Joseph had the right and the power to punish his ten half-brothers for doing what they did to him. He could have gotten his pound of flesh from them, his revenge on them, but in his mercy, Joseph forgave his brothers and wept over them when they finally reconciled.

 

Joseph forgives his brothers! Can you believe it?! Instead of committing vengeful acts, Joseph commits saving acts. Not only does he forgive his brothers, but he saves them from famine and poverty. He reunites his family and vows to take care of them.

 

The brothers, laden with treasures and food and wagonloads of gifts, were sent back to land of Canaan to get their father Jacob and all their families. All of them, all seventy of them, came to settle in the land of Goshen in Egypt where Joseph took care of them. There was a new beginning for Joseph and his family, and it was God that led them to the point where they could be reunited in love and unity.

 

As today’s psalm states “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!”

And how very good it is when God is the leader and the light down the path to new beginnings. The lesson today, for Joseph and for all of us, is that God will indeed lead us to new beginnings if we’re just willing to follow.

 

I’ll admit, sometimes God’s instructions, signs, or whatever you’d like to call them can sometimes be so subtle that you might not see them unless looked upon retrospectively. Reflecting back over the almost-20 years since joining the Anglican Church, I’ve come to recognize how God worked to get me to where I am today. And it all started with new a beginning.

 

Many years ago, I became friends with a woman named Lola who just happened to work with someone I knew at a youth and family social services organization. Lola decided to start a project and got all her friends involved, including me. As the token accountant, I was of course asked to be the treasurer!

 

One of the people joining the project was this motorcycle-riding co-worker of Lola’s named Helen. Turned out she was an Anglican priest! By coincidence, I was finding my way back to church after a devastating loss and a tumble into darkness. I didn’t know how to go about picking a church, so I figured “why not check out Helen’s church?” The motorcycle and the fact that she is a woman had me intrigued.

 

I attended services, I spoke with Helen, I decided to have my child baptized there, and the rest, as they say, is history. And it all started with a new beginning.

 

God led me to the people I needed at a time of darkness.

 

God led me to the decision to baptize El when I hadn’t been a part of a church in more than 20 years.

 

God gave me my new beginning.

 

As God has done, and will continue to do so, for us all.

 

Amen.

The Blessing: A Sermon for the 10th Sunday After Pentecost

Photo Credit: Oboakpeyrenyehavwo on Unsplash

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

 

Continuing with Jacob’s story, a lot has happened since last week’s fiasco. Jacob is homeward bound after 20 years in Paddan-aram. During his two-decade sojourn in Haran, he has become exceedingly rich and the father of 12 sons who will become the namesakes for the 12 tribes of Israel. Despite the trickery and manipulation that we have experience from Jacob, God seems to have been with him at every turn, working continually for his good and ensuring Jacob’s success in every endeavor.

 

But now, Jacob faces danger all around. Going back over the events that have transpired during the chapters of Genesis since last week, Jacob has made promises never to go north again (Genesis 31:43-53). Forced south, he learns that his brother Esau – whom Jacob treated horribly in the past, as you remember (25:29-34; 27:1-45) – approaches with 400 men. Jacob divides his camp into two, accepting the reality that Esau may easily strike down one of them (32:7-8). He prays a desperate prayer to God, begging to be delivered from the hand of his brother (32:9-12). He lines up gifts to alleviate Esau’s anger (32:13-21). Then, at the outset of today’s passage, under the cover of darkness, he sends his family and belongings across the Jabbok River (32:22-23). We’re not given a reason why Jacob is off standing alone, why he didn’t go with his family, but while he is alone, out of nowhere, someone wrestles with him. The text doesn’t tell us who the assailant is, making us wonder if Esau is finally getting his long-sought revenge.

 

It is a curious incident. An unidentified man wrestles with Jacob until dawn. There’s no information about who this man is, or where he came from, or why he attacked Jacob. When this strange man realizes he isn’t going to win the fight, he hits Jacob in the hip, injuring him. The man begs Jacob to let him go, which he does, on one condition. Jacob asks for a blessing. What an interesting thing to request of a man who wrestles you in the dead of night for no obvious reason. Why would Jacob request a blessing from his assailant?

 

When we think of a blessing, we think of receiving the blessing of God. It’s something good and wholesome. Something to be cherished. It brings us comfort. However, to bless each other is to lay aside all hostilities and affirm the goodness in the other person. Good things often accompany blessings, like generous gifts. When God blesses someone, it means that their needs are met. They’re made whole and surrounded by peace. When Jacob requests a blessing, he is asking for the wrestling to stop and that there be peace between the two men.

 

Ultimately, this odd stranger gives Jacob a blessing, and renames him “Israel”, while refusing to provide Jacob with his own name. Then he disappears as mysteriously as he came. But who was this man? The name Jacob gives to the place, Peniel, let us know that his assailant was God. In Hebrew, Peniel (or Penuel) means “the face of God”.

 

We often shy away from this story because Jacob’s wrestling with God is not always seen in a good light. It’s more likely be to read as Jacob’s lack of faith in God. And a lack of faith, in many circles, is deemed a crisis. However, if we don’t wrestle or struggle with God, our faith remains at a basic level, untested and unexamined. We sometimes feel like we need to be at peace with God before entering a church or other sacred spaces. But the Bible welcomes those struggling with the divine – seeing this struggle as central to Israel’s identity. In fact, even the name Israel proves this statement. In Hebrew, there are several translations for “Israel”, including “God is righteous”, “God is exalted”, “God shines”, and “God rules”. Israel can also be translated as “wrestles with God”.

 

God doesn’t expect us, or our faith, to be perfect. Jacob’s blessing from God doesn’t come when he’s achieved superstar status as a saint. It comes when he’s made a mess of his life, feels trapped, is all alone, and has nowhere to go. He’s in the middle of a wrestling match. But there, amid darkness and confusion, God gives him goodness. We too, amid our struggles, can be assured that God still has good things in store for us.

 

This is the story of Jacob, and of God’s people Israel, who will grow from his 12 sons. Jacob’s refusal to let go of God is what raw, honest faith looks like. Faith is not just passively submitting to God; it is grappling, contending, tenacious, and persistent. Faith is a wrestling match. It’s grabbing hold of God and refusing to let go, despite the struggle, the time, the risks, the injury. Because, in the end, the blessing is worth it. This is the story of Jacob, and of Israel. And it is our story too.

 

So, what is your “Peniel” moment? When have you wrestled with God? When have you seen God’s face? What are the battle scars that have been imprinted on your life and faith? The blessing on offer to us from Genesis 32 is that even in the midst of real struggle, in the darkest of nights, if we refuse to let go, yes, we may come away injured, marked, limping – as did Jacob. But if we just hold on, we might also come away with a blessing and having caught a glimpse of the very face of God. We will wrestle with our faith at times in our lives, and sometimes faith itself feels like wrestling. And we won’t come out of the match unscathed, but we will emerge blessed and changed.

 

As Glinda and Elphaba say, “Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”

 

Amen.

Resources:

workingpreacher.org

"New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament" edited by Daniel Durken