Gone Fishin’: Mark 1:14-20

preached by Rev. Jeri Katherine Sipes on January 22, 2012 at Wesley Memorial UMC, Columbia, SC

Opening Video:

The sad truth we learn at the very beginning of Mark’s gospel is that there used to be a time when Jesus simply announced the Good News—when Jesus simply said, “Now is the time! God’s kingdom is near! Change your hearts and lives and believe this good news!” and people dropped what they were doing…they dropped their nets as we see Simon, Andrew, James and John do and immediately follow him. So often today in many of our churches we talk about the “good ol’ days” when our sanctuaries were filled and our Sunday school classrooms were abuzz with life and eager learners and happy fellowship. But the real “good ol’ days” are captured here in Mark 1.

Mark is very different from Matthew, Luke and John. The other Gospels give you time to warm up to the idea of following Jesus, but not so in Mark.[1] In Mark you jump right in! Unlike Matthew, Luke and John, in Mark there is no birth story, no long list of Jesus’ genealogy, and no theological explanation of Jesus’ identity. We are only in the first chapter and only fourteen verses into Mark and already Jesus is gathering disciples, already Jesus is saying, “Follow Me.” And people are dropping their nets and following Jesus. It takes Matthew and Luke four chapters to get to this point. The closest to Mark is the Gospel of John. In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus does call his first disciples, but it is after John has said much, much more than simply, “The Kingdom of God is near! Change your hearts and lives and believe this good news! And follow me.” There is no build up in Mark as there is in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  In just sixteen chapters Mark uses “immediately” or “straightaway” forty times.[2] That seems to be the theme of Mark’s Gospel. Everything is urgent and everyone seems to respond to Jesus immediately.

The message of Christ has not changed. The message is still “The kingdom of God is near.” But unlike the disciples in Mark who did not know Jesus’ future, we know the full story of Christ; we hear a more complete Good News that Jesus died and was resurrected for us. So, in a way I would argue that the message we hear is more compelling than what Simon, Andrew, James and John heard. And yet, while most of us admire what these disciples do, and while most of us really love this story and love the catchy phrase “fishers of people,” few of us would actually consider following these disciples “drop-everything” example, few of us would do what they did.[3] So what would make you drop everything and begin an entirely new life? “What would prompt you to leave everything you know for something entirely different?”[4]

I may be “preaching to the choir” as they say. After all y’all are here in church and so many people don’t even bother to go to church any more. It is a well-known fact that churches everywhere are dying. We spend a lot of time these days talking about church growth and church revitalization and what is the latest method for bringing in people. Perhaps fishing for people is just a lot different today than it was when Mark wrote his Gospel. Like the video at the beginning of the sermon, it seems that fish today want to be entertained and won over and lured. The radical message of God’s good news is no longer compelling enough perhaps. That is very sad, and I do not believe that is the truth.

We spend so much of our time, effort and resources looking at what is wrong with people today, and we spend a lot of time asking, “What would bring more people to church?” We look at demographic reports of our surrounding neighborhood and we have conversations about how we can make God’s church more attractive, how we can provide programs to reach people in our area to draw them into our church, and how we can make God’s church more compelling. Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll make your life easy,” or “I’ll give you a bigger salary,” or “I’ll make you famous,” or “Come, to my awesome show.” Jesus simply said, “The Kingdom of God is near. Follow me.” Yes, Jesus’ message is the same and his call for us to follow him and be made into fishers of people is still the calling of all of Jesus’ followers, but I think it is obvious that we haven’t been the best fishers. Perhaps instead of focusing on what is wrong with everyone else, what is wrong with our church and why aren’t people coming to church…or instead of asking how can we make church more compelling maybe we need to just get back to the basics.

Maybe we need to take a hint from these four fishermen in Mark and drop everything ourselves and follow Jesus. How can we be fishers of people when our lives don’t reflect the beliefs we profess? How can we be fishers for Christ when we aren’t willing or ready to drop everything and follow him? How can we be fishers of people when church is secondary, when church is no more than another obligation or activity in our already busy schedules? Who wants to be part of more busyness? When we begin to live as though God’s church is life-transforming and a good, meaningful and relevant way of life—not a part of life—but a way of living, then and only then will people be drawn to who and what we have come to love so much.

There is no secret to church growth or to bringing more people into God’s kingdom. Jesus lived it for us. The message of Christ is more than compelling enough. But to be bearers of this good news we have to do more than speak it; we have to live it; we have to embody it in all we do and wherever we go. We have to walk like Christ—not only on Sundays, not only ten-percent of the time, not only when it is convenient, not only when the future is certain, not when we feel one-hundred-percent ready but always and everywhere we have been called by Jesus. You know that is what the New Testament Greek word for church means. Church or ecclesia means “called-out,” so we need to actually live as though we have indeed been called out for a purpose.

There is much we can learn from these four fishermen in Mark.[5] Their story can help us begin to be better fisher of people in our world today. I am not a fisher woman. I have grown up fishing from time to time, but I do not know too much about the fishing world beyond the basics. But I would consider myself an athlete or a woman of many hobbies, and I think there are certain marks, or traits, or characteristics, or qualities of anyone who is taken up with a sport or a hobby or a job they love to do. First, and I already hinted at it, you have to love what you do.[6] Do you love the church? Do you love being a disciple of Jesus with your whole life? Does your life reflect your love for Jesus? If you do love Jesus and your life reflects your love then you are a natural; you will be a good fisher of people.

Love or natural talent carries people a long way, but any profession athlete, musician, artist, or whatever will tell you that to be really good takes a lot of practice; it takes dedication.[7] You have to be willing to fully immerse yourself into the teachings of Jesus and the life of the church. The church is much more than a social club; it is a place we come together to worship, study, pray, fellowship and experience God as God’s people. Part of the good news we share with the world is that we are not alone. But unless you fully and without restraint invest yourself in the life of a church and unless you practice growing in your own faith daily, how will you ever be able to draw more people into God’s church?

To be a good fisher man or woman you also have to “know the fish.”[8] This is what Paul called being “in the world but not of the world.” It is not our job to pass judgment on people, but to meet people where they are, to build relationships with people as we see Jesus do throughout the Gospels. How are you connecting with your neighbors? How are you listening to their needs, their pains, their sorrows? Building the church begins with building relationships outside of the church. You have to remember that you may be the only witness of Christ that someone ever sees or meets. How are you getting to know all the different kinds of fish around you? And how or are you sharing the good news?

And finally, to be a good fisher of people you have to be patient. Sometimes we meet Simons, Andrews, Jameses and Johns who immediately respond to the message of Christ, but then sometimes you meet people who are not so immediate in their response or who might even be hostile to God’s message. But God called us to fish and part of fishing, as any fisherman will tell you, is patience. Van, my brother-in-law, once said to me after we were out fishing with the family for nearly 3 hours with only two catches, “There’s a reason they call it fishing and not catching.” Jesus has called us to fish, but the good news for us is that we can leave the catching up to God. Having patience means not giving up, and that is a very important part of being a fisher of people for Christ.

Love what you do, practice, know the fish and be patient—these are all marks of good fisher men and women.

There is hope for God’s church, and the hope is you. That is the message of Mark 1:14-20. The hope of God’s kingdom in this world relies on a partnership with all those people who call themselves followers of Jesus. We have all been called fisher of men and women. What are you waiting for? Don’t you think it is about time we go fishing? Amen.

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[1] Alyce M. McKenzie, “Ready or Not: Reflections on Mark 1:4-20,” January 17, 2012, http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Ready-or-Not-Alyce-McKenzie-01-17-2012.html.

[2] Ibid.

[3] John A. Stroman, “Drop-Everything Discipleship,” http://www.sermonsuite.com/free.php?i=788016602&key=yfklo9Rh4wxWvqtc.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Edward Markquart, “Fishing for Christ,” January 20, 2009, http://ministrydepot.com/sermons/2009/01/mark-1-14-20-epiphany-3b-fishing-for-christ/.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

God’s Calling, Are You Listening?: 1 Samuel 3:1-10

preached by Rev. Jeri Katherine Sipes on January 15, 2012 at Wesley Memorial UMC, Columbia, SC

If you hang out with our vintage folks, as we have come to call our older or chronologically gifted folks, here at church and around the community long enough, you’ll soon accumulate many, many jokes because for whatever reason, I have observed, that when you hit a certain age, you start to talk in the language of jokes—especially vintage men. This is not a judgment or a condemnation, but merely an observation that I think can help my sermons, or at least loosen us up to be ready to hear what God has to say to us today.

For example, I recently heard a joke that goes very well with our scripture lesson from 1 Samuel 3. There was once a preacher who titled his sermon, “The Danger of Falling Asleep in Church.” For several weeks in a row there was one particular man who fell asleep during church every single Sunday, so the preacher thought he would make an example out of him for the rest of the church. Just as the preacher stood up to preach, he noticed the man was already comfortably asleep in his pew.  So, the preacher asked his congregants to please stand if you want to go to heaven. Everyone stood except the sleeping man. There were snickers and a few gasps, and the man kept on sleeping. The preacher had everyone sit back down, and then with a bang of his fist on the pulpit and with a loud voice the preacher said, “Stand up if you want to go to hell!” That loud commotion from the pulpit roused the sleeping man; he stood, and he looked around and said, “Preacher, I don’t know what we’re voting on, but it looks like it is just you and me are the only ones for it.”[1]

There are dangers sleeping in the church, but as one pastor pointed out there is just as much danger or many unexpected surprises by simply being in the church or being the church.[2] Just read Samuel’s story and you will understand. Even before Samuel was born the life of his family was centered at the temple or the church of their time. Samuel’s parents were Elkanah and Hannah. And Hannah like her ancestors Sarah and Rachel was barren; she could not have children and yet her prayer every time she was in the house of the Lord was for a child of her own. And every prayer of her husband, Elkanah, was for a child for Hannah. Like Sarah and Rachel, Hannah was beyond child-bearing age when the priest Eli told her God would give her a child. Hannah was so filled with joy at this great miracle and gift that she promised God her child would grow up in the temple with the priests to be trained as a minister of the Lord.

If we fast forward 12 or so years from Samuel’s conception and then birth, we meet the child Samuel asleep in the temple in our verses for today. Samuel is not like the man from the joke; he is not bored with church and sermons and songs and prayers and probably all the activities of a church. Back in Samuel’s day when children were promised for the service of the Lord, as Hannah had promised Samuel before he was born, when the children were weaned from their mothers they went to live at the temple with the ministers who would train them to be ministers. Obviously when children are baptized or dedicated in churches today we do not do that. Some of you parents might be thinking, “Hmmmm…sounds like a tradition we should revive.” No. Sorry. I will have to ask you to stop that thought there. Wesley Memorial’s minister and more importantly her husband are not willing participants in reviving this tradition. I will be more than happy to be involved in the life of your child in your home or in Sunday School and VBS, but we are not currently taking Samuel applicants at this time. The good thing for you is that you are United Methodist so give it a couple of years and you’ll have a new pastor to try to convince to revive that tradition.

But getting back to the point—the danger of being in the church is that soon you will hear God calling you. It doesn’t matter if you initially came here because your family came or comes, or you came with a friend, or you came because you wanted your children to be raised in the church because you were raised in the church, or you came for the awesome potlucks, or because that’s what families just do at 11:00 on Sundays in the south. Whatever reason or reasons you started coming to church, if you spend enough time here and with the church people you will begin to hear God calling your name as God called Samuel.

God is always calling out to each one of us all the time—no matter if we’re in church or not. God calls and that is a fact, but sometimes I think our days are very much like the days of Samuel when the “Word of the Lord was rare and visions were not widespread.” Just to make it clear for you…that is not a good thing. There are several places in the Bible that when the word of the Lord is not heard and visions stop bad things follow. Proverbs 29:18 puts it plainly, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The Word of the Lord certainly does seem to be rare and visions do not seem to be widespread today. And I think it is safe to say that our world is spiritually unhealthy and in desperate need of God’s Good News, but I don’t think this is because God has ceased to speak, or to call or to reach out to us. I think it is because we have become spiritually hard-of-hearing.[3] We are not attuned to the ways of the Lord because we have become more in tuned with the ways of the world. We busy ourselves with calls and expectations of others that we do not make room to hear God, or even sadder we do not even expect God to speak or call to us like we read so often in scripture. Like Samuel, we don’t even consider God calling an option.[4] We are so readily available when people—our friends and family—call us, but not so available or willing to acknowledge when it is God who is really calling us.[5]

Perhaps we are spiritually hard-of-hearing because we are so busy and we fill our lives with so much, but perhaps it is also because God’s call can come at very inconvenient times and God’s call on our lives might not be what we want to do or it might not match up with our lives’ plan. Samuel was called in the middle of the night. Personally I can’t think of a much more inconvenient time. I like my sleep. I don’t like to be disturbed when I am warmly tucked in my bed with my feather blanket all tucked around me and I’m in the middle of a deep sleep, but sometimes God’s call comes when we are most comfortable and don’t want to be disturbed, and well sometimes that can just be so inconvenient, can’t it!? So we don’t even listen.  We brush God off like we don’t even hear him.

The title of this sermon, as you may have read, is “God’s calling, are you listening,” but I think before we can even listen, we have to pick up the phone. I envision God to be that Verizon wireless guy who keeps asking, “Can you hear me now,” as he moves closer and closer and closer to the person. Just like that God moves closer and closer to us, and he asks, “Can you hear me now?” God is hoping that one day we will pick up the phone and say, “Yes, yes. I hear you. What do you want, God?” First, before we can even begin to listen to God, we have to acknowledge that God speaks to each of us. God calls each of us. God speaks to our world, to our church and to people today through scripture, prayer, song, sermons (we hope!), worship, fellowship, church and the ways God speaks to us cannot be limited. God speaks. God calls. Before we can ask, “Are you listening,” we have to ask ourselves and each other, “Are you even ready to listen?”

Just as there is a danger in coming to church because you might hear God calling you, there is a danger in opening ourselves up to listening to God. We didn’t read the rest of 1 Samuel 3, but if you know the story, or if you have time to go back to read it, you will see that God called Samuel to a very difficult task and what would be for years a very difficult life. God does not always call us to an easy way of life, and because of that we don’t always want to listen. Sometimes like Samuel that might mean to challenge your leaders, or change something about yourself—which is never easy.

But this is where trust in the Lord comes in. We have to trust that God has plans to bring about good. We have to trust and know that we have all been called to be ministers for God—ordained clergy are not the only ones who are called to serve the church and share the good news of Christ. We are all called to witness God’s presence in our world with the variety of gifts God has given us. We have to trust that like Samuel God has great plans to use each of us in mighty and transforming ways.

Are you ready to listen? Are you listening? If you are, and you respond “Here I am, Lord” as Samuel did then the next question we must ask ourselves is, “How am I surrounding myself with people who will help me discern the will of God for my life?” Who are you are the people surrounding you who will help you live into God’s calling for you? Samuel had Eli and the whole community at the temple. He also had faithful parents—Elkanah and Hannah—who helped him grow into his calling. Having people around us who can help us discern God’s call for our lives is very important. People keep us accountable, challenge and encourage us, and they don’t let us forget the ways in which God is calling. If we surround ourselves with other people who are seeking God’s will, if we surround ourselves with others who are listening to God then we will move from merely answering God’s call to actively living God’s call for our lives. Without the support of such people like a church family or a healthy community of faith, we cannot fully live into God’s call.

Each of us as the body of Christ has been called in different ways. Each of us has been made by God’s own hands with different gifts. When one doesn’t answer God’s call, the body is not complete, the body of Christ does not work properly. We need each other to live into our call. Samuel’s story teaches us that.

So, this week as you go throughout your week and you read and pray and fellowship ask yourself: Am I ready to listen to God? Am I listening to God? Who in my life can I go to help me discern God’s call for my life? And finally find some space and time where you can be quiet and truly listen for the voice of God. We do not have to be a time and place where the Word of the Lord is rare and visions are not widespread. Our future is not fixed; rather God is calling to us today and every day, calling us to turn and return to him so that he can do mighty things through his people. How will you respond? Amen.

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[1] David E. Leininger, “The Voice: 1 Samuel 3:1-10,” http://www.sermonsuite.com/free.php?i=788031688&key=QunYa9qn7klrukof.

[2] Ibid.

[3] John C. Holbert, “Hello, is this God? Reflections on 1 Samuel 3:1-10,” Jan. 12, 2012, http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Hello-Is-This-God-John-Holbert-01-16-2012.html.

[4] Beth Tanner, “What it means to be called by God,” January 18, 2009, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=1/18/2009&tab=1.

[5] Ibid.

Untamed Disciples: Mark 1:4-11

preached by Rev. Jeri Katherine Sipes on January 8 at Wesley Memorial UMC in Columbia, SC

Let’s take a quick hand poll. How many of you have been baptized? Don’t worry, I’m not taking names. I don’t have a pencil in hand. I’m not going to aggressively confront you after church and pressure you into being baptized. I understand. The decision to be baptized takes time. I went through three confirmation classes one before baptism and two afterwards just to make sure, so believe me I really understand that such a decision as baptism can be a lengthy process—all in God’s timing, right?

Most of your hands went up. Good, but now, another hand poll—how many of you remember your baptism?  I do. I was 10 when I was baptized, and my dad baptized me—the Baptist-way according to many of my fellow United Methodists. I was immersed, dunked, submerged, or plunged—which ever you prefer to call it; I was baptized by more than I couple drops or sprinkles of water. I distinctly remember the way the cool water completely washed over me as my dad lowered me into the water. I came up out of the water literally feeling renewed, washed cleaned and made new. It was a powerful feeling; it was a transformational experience that changed my life. I felt God’s presence all around me, embracing me fully and it has been a feeling I haven’t been able to forget.

At 10 years old I thought, “This is my new beginning. This is my new life.” And at 10 years old I naively, or with the innocence of a child, thought that somehow baptism would prevent me from sinning—that baptism would actually make it hard to sin. Go on laugh. I know, it is a bit ridiculous. After more life experience than just a mere 10 years I know that is not quite how baptism works. I have fallen or backslidded as John Wesley would say many times—more times than I am probably willing to admit. I am far from perfect as I have admitted many a time from this pulpit. But I like to think that part of that little 10 year old girl is still a part of me today. I want so desperately that 10 year-old girl who expected Christ to make her whole, new and perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect to still be part of me. It is easy as adults to forget our baptism in the busyness and daily demands of work and family; or to live as nothing ever happened; or to remember our baptism and feel a sense of guilt or failure that we have let God and our church down because we have backslid or strayed far, far away from those promises we made at our baptism. Can I take another hand poll? How many of us have been there? I have many times.

But Mark has good news for all of us backsliders today. We didn’t read verse 1 of our chapter today, but Mark begins his gospel this way, “This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, son of God.” Unlike the other Gospels, Mark does not begin with Jesus’ birth story. There is no genealogy list, no angels, no shepherds, no Mary and Joseph, and no manger. Mark’s gospel begins in the river—a dramatic beginning of Jesus’ ministry that begins with Jesus’ baptism. “Old John the Baptist with eyes wild and penetrating, hair and beard shaggy and unkempt, dressed in a long, coarse camel-hair shirt, probably dusty and sun-burned, eating wild honey and locusts, and who preached hell fire and brimstone out in the middle of the desert was at the Jordan river baptizing a crowd of people when Jesus walked into the waters.”[1] Of course Jesus was sinless, blameless, already perfect as his Father in heaven, so he didn’t need to be baptized. But when Jesus came into the river among all the other sinners, he—God incarnate, God who is fully divine and yet fully human—identified with them, identified with the sinners, identifies with us today. We have been baptized by the same waters and by the same Spirit that baptized Christ.

The world is a different place because of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, and that was made clear at Jesus’ baptism. When Jesus waded into the waters of the river Jordan that day, the heavens tore apart—the heavens did not merely open up as a door or window opens, but the heavens were torn apart.[2] When we open something like a door, a window, or a jar we expect that we can easily close it again. But when something is torn, it cannot be so easily repaired, fixed, mended or sewn perfectly back together again. Are you with me? Something that is opened is meant to be closed. We all learned this when we learned our opposites as little children, but something that is torn is not necessarily meant to be put back together. When Jesus was baptized that day the heavens were torn apart because God never planned to close the heavens back up. Nothing would ever be the same again. God was among us in human form, walking, talking, eating, and being baptized, and God never planned to leave us. The world not only was a different place because of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, but every time we celebrate a baptism, or remember our own baptism we remember that the world is a different place because of Jesus Christ, who is Emmanuel, God with us.

We are different people after being baptized by the same waters and Spirit that baptized Christ. At least that is what baptism calls us into—a new life, a new people, a new identity. Jesus’ baptism inaugurated his earthly ministry among us. It is very fitting that the story of Jesus’ baptism comes at the beginning of every New Year when everyone is making resolutions and trying to better themselves in the New Year. As Methodists we only believe in being baptized once, but yearly, monthly and even daily we can remember and renew our covenant we made with God at our baptism. That day when the heavens tore apart, God’s Spirit descended and God’s voice said, “You are my son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased”—on that day God was making a new people; God was partnering with humanity unlike God had ever done in the past. God was making a new people for himself, but this time the people, you and I, have to choose to be people of God. The world is a different place because of Jesus, but through our baptism we have been called to live this difference for our world.[3]

One of my least favorite quotes I have read in any book—I can’t remember which book now, but just a two-word phrase that terrifies me, and that is: “tame commitment.” Tame commitment is the same as passive participation which isn’t really participation at all when you think about it. Tame commitment means watered down, lukewarm, docile, subdued, and even disinterested, and we all know what the Bible says about being lukewarm. God says, “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot or cold, I will spit you from my mouth.”[4] This scene at the Jordan River in Mark 1 is anything but tame and as we read throughout Mark and the other Gospels and even the whole Bible the people of God have anything but tame commitment, anything but tame faith—we are often told that God’s people are people of bold faith. The folks we read about in the Bible are probably there because of their untame-ness. This scene of Jesus’ baptism is just the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, but it begins in a very dramatic way, only foreshadowing the kind of uninhibited, untamed, and unbounded life Jesus lived while he walked among us.

I doubt Jesus ever worried about what other people thought. He knew from the beginning that he had been called God’s child. Likewise, I am definitely sure John the Baptist didn’t care what others thought. A man who eats locusts, wears camel hair, never cuts his hair and tells people to repent is not the kind of man who cares what others think. John knew he had been called by God for a purpose, that he too was a beloved child of God. Sometimes I think we live too cautiously; we worry too much about what others think of us; we live tamed lives of faith that do not reflect the fact that Jesus’ life and especially Jesus’ life in ours continues to make a difference in our world.

God is a radical, passionate, and dramatic kind of God who wants to shake things up in our world. But the God who freely gives his gracious gift of his son wants us to decide fully to be part of God’s grand plan. The heavens have been torn apart, God’s Spirit is still among us, and God is still telling us all today that we are his children, his beloved, with whom he is well pleased. The calling of our baptism cannot be contained to an hour on Sunday morning, or a few hours during the week. God wants all of us. He wants to use us in mighty ways where people least expect it, but we must make the decision to be untamed disciples who show radical love, hospitality and forgiveness, who make known God’s presence among us today.

We are part of God’s story. Through baptism we have been made one with Christ. Through our baptism we are a part of God’s kingdom; we have been washed by the same water and Spirit that Jesus was washed in. In a minute we will sing Blessed Assurance. In Christ we have our assurance, so what are we waiting for? That assurance is just assurance of eternity, but as the song says in the here and now we can have a fore taste of glory divine. Don’t you want the whole world to have such a taste of God’s radical, untamed and unconditional love? If you answered yes, then today is the day you start living your baptism without reservations or fear or inhibitions. Being baptized into the church is more than joining a bunch of committees or classes, and it is much more than a list of do’s and don’ts. Being baptized into God’s holy church is life transforming not only for the one who is being baptized, but for the whole world. But it is up to you and me to choose what kind of baptized person we want to be—a passive participant with a tame faith or an untamed disciple with bold faith. We daily get to decide who we will be, so today as we remember Jesus’ baptism who will you choose to be? Amen.

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[1] Keith Nickle, “Out of the Ordinary: A Sermon for the First Sunday After Epiphany—Baptism of the Lord,” Journal for Preachers (1987).

[2] Donald Juel, “Markan Epiphany: lessons from Mark 1,” Word & World (1988).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Revelation 3:16

Jesus Calls Us to A Transformed Life

Sunday, Jan. 29 afternoon Bible Study at Wesley Memorial, guided by the short-term Disciple Bible Study, Invitation to the New Testament, by David A. deSilva and Emerson B. Powery

For a year and a half I have held numerous bible studies, classes and small groups at our church, but with very little consistently attending. A much wiser and seasoned pastor told me to never stop offering the opportunity for people to gather around the Word of God–despite how frustrating it may seem at times. So, despite many disappointing afternoons and evenings when not a single soul showed up, I kept plugging away–trying different times, locations, subject matter and even teachers. And now, for whatever reason, people are coming, and not only coming but actively and eagerly participating. We have a healthy-size group of eager disciples attending our New Testament bible study, and they actually look forward to coming each week. Talk about a transformation!

Our group of 8-10 people each Sunday get along very well, and our discussions are honest, stimulating and thought-provoking. It used to be hard to get people to talk enough to fill an hour of Sunday School and Bible Study, but now we find it difficult to get through the whole bible study lesson in 2 hours! It has been a joy to be a part of this small group. I do pray that many, including myself, grow and are transformed through this study of God’s Word, and I look forward to seeing what God will do in our church and community through these dedicated disciples.

Week 2 Invitation to the NT: NT Bible Study Week 2

Jesus Calls Us Into God’s Redemption Story

Sunday afternoon bible study at Wesley Memorial UMC, Columbia, SC, Jan. 22, 2012
guided by the short-term Disciple Bible Study, Invitation to the New Testament byDavid A. deSilva and Emerson B. Powery

Good News! Good News! There is a hunger to go deeper in discipleship at Wesley Memorial! As a small church we are not always consistent with out Bible Studies. Attendance numbers fluctuate from 12 one Sunday to 0 the next. It is hard to prepare for such unpredictability as the leader of these studies. But one retired pastor gave me wise advise after my initial frustration with this problem when I first came to WMUMC; he said, “Never stop offering bible studies. They will eventually come.” And eventually they did! We had 12 last night at our study which made for a very rich conversation. It was hard to squeeze our study into an hour and a half; people just wanted to keep talking—that is a blessing! We ranged in age from 27 to 87 and it was amazing for me, as the pastor, to see the connections that were made across these generational boundaries.

Our 87 year old told us the story of how her mother died at a very young age and she was sent to live with her grandmother, and then a 38 year old man in the class completely empathized with her because the same thing happened to him when he was a young boy. It was a beautiful moment that everyone in the room knew they understood one another and how such an experience shaped their adult identities. As we seek to be in a deeper relationship with God, God draws us into a deeper relationship with one another.

I look forward to meeting with this class weekly. I am convinced that when churches begin to genuinely work on spiritual formation–on the spiritual health of congregants then and only then can the church grow. I look forward to seeing what God has planned for the people of this church.

Jan. 22 Bible Study: NT Bible Study Week 1

The Ministry of ALL God’s People

Sunday School lesson for one of the adult Sunday School classes at Wesley Memorial UMC, Jan. 15, 2012

This Sunday the sermon is on 1 Samuel 3:1-10; the title is “God’s Calling, Are You Listening.” We are trying to better connect Sunday School to Worship, and since last week we talked about God, I thought this would be a good week to follow that discussion up with where or how is this God we talked about calling us.

This SS class is based off the UMC BOD phrase: “The Ministry of All God’s People.” The Methodist church–and I hope throughout the church universal–emphasizes strong lay leadership and presence. The clergy are not responsible for EVERYTHING in the church; rather it is a partnership. As Christians we have all been called by God, and the church desperately needs everyone to fully live into their calling.

Here is our SS lesson: Jan 15 Sunday School

 

WHO IS GOD?: Lesson for January 8

For the next several weeks, our Sunday School classes at Wesley Memorial will be doing some theology. I know, I know– “theology” can sound like such a big, scary word that we don’t want to touch with a 13 and a half inch pole. But, my hope, through this class, is that disciples will learn to be comfortable “doing” theology–because theology merely the study of God that enriches our life so that we can live our theology in our everyday lives. But to live our theology, we must learn and study–so we will begin in a classroom of our church with the hopes that the theology in which we are involved will not stay behind our walls and closed doors. Since theology is the study of God and all things related to God,  we will begin with God and the question of “Who is God?”.

This week several scripture passages as well as participants’ experiences will inform our discussion of God. I pray that our discussion will invite people to explore God on their own time, and ultimately ask themselves, ” Where do I see God in my life and world? How am I being a living witness of God to my friends, family, neighbors and strangers?”

The impetus for our study is to nurture disciples for Christ who will participate in God’s transformation of the world in the here and now. We want to nurture and grow thoughtful disciples of Christ, seeking to be relevant in our world. So, our Sunday School lessons have a very organized flow to move people from “nominal Christians” to “altogether Christians”–that is our prayer anyhow. Growth in Christ is a process, and Sunday School at WMUMC recognizes that process and joins disciples-wherever they may be on their spiritual journey–in providing a space to think, question, doubt, pray, discuss and learn from fellow disciples.

We invite you to join us–either physically at 2501 Heyward Street, or virtually by downloading the lesson plans for each week and posting responses on our blog. May God bless you as you seek to grow in God.

Jan 8 Sunday School

Covenanted People: Joshua 24:14-15 & James 5:13-16

preached by Rev. Jeri Katherine Warden Sipes on January 1, 2012 at Suber-Marshall Memorial UMC for the Community of UM Churches Covenant Renewal and Healing Service

Covenanted People

What does covenant mean? Sometimes I think that during times such as this covenant service we use covenant and covenantal language without really reflecting on what it means. So, help me out. What comes to mind when you think of covenant? What are some synonyms or brief definitions of covenant? Think for a minute…

Webster’s dictionary defines covenant this way: usually a formal, solemn, and binding agreement, or a written agreement or promise. Some synonyms from Webster are contract, pact, alliance, deal, understanding, oath or pledge.

But how often do you and I, on an everyday basis, enter such a formal covenant? On November 25, I would say that my husband and I said vows to one another and entered into what Webster described as a formal, solemn and binding covenant. But to be honest I don’t think about covenanting too much—unless of course we’re at church and we are baptizing someone or doing a renewal service such as this. I guess if you’re a lawyer or in some kind of business or contracting work you may be involved with a lot of covenanting, but I bet you don’t use the covenantal language. Perhaps contract is the word most used. And do we really think that covenants are truly binding? Nothing is really binding, right?

I think for the most part we have come to believe this—that covenants are not binding or that there is no accountability in covenants, vows, promises, contracts, oaths or pledges. James Emery White wrote a book called Wrestling with God and in it he wrote, “Today if relationships become too uncomfortable, we disengage. We change jobs, move out of a neighborhood, find a new church, or leave a marriage. We minimize life as portable and disposable.”[1]

Webster’s dictionary didn’t directly say anything about covenants being relational. Yes, I believe that the understanding of the dictionary definition is that there will be people involved, but then when you mention relationships and people—that makes things a whole lot messier. O how easy it is to say “I do” or “I will” to words in a covenant, but how much more difficult and what a challenge it is to live the implications of a covenant with real, live people.

I am learning that with my new husband. When I said “I do,” I know I said I will love him, comfort him, honor and keep in sickness and in health, but nobody told or warned me about living with all of his quirks—I won’t embarrass Hiram now, but believe me it taking some getting used to sharing everything. That “I do” takes on more meaning and is a lot harder when you are trying to integrate two lives into one.

But the point is this: covenants for us as God’s people are relational; covenants involve people and they are intimate and personal—not in a private sort of way but personal as in face-to-face or shared. Covenants are more than written contracts; they are more than words from our baptismal services and more than creeds and prayers we pray. The covenant we make with God at our baptism is a covenant with not only God, but the people of God. It is a covenant of mutual responsibility and commitment rather than self-fulfillment; it is a covenant, that yes, is binding but that is rooted in God’s grace and unconditional love.

This covenant at Shechem in Joshua 24 was one of many times when the covenant between God and God’s people was renewed again and again and again. Deep commitments and covenants we make usually need to be renewed; we need to be reminded that the covenants we make with God and one another are binding. They are covenants that have the power to transform the world if we put faithfully live the vows of the covenants we make. Let me remind you of the covenant you made at your baptism. You said or if you were an infant you had someone say on your behalf that as members of God’s church you will faithfully participate in God’s ministries by your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. These are more than just words of welcome at the time of baptism; they are covenantal words to live by.

This morning I talked about New Year’s resolutions. How many of you make New Year’s resolutions? I usually do. How many of you keep your New Year’s resolutions? Be honest? Have you ever kept a New Year’s resolution for 365 days a year? My resolutions usually don’t see the months of spring before I have abandoned my eagerness for my resolution.

Sometimes I think that is what we do with the covenant we make with God. We think—“Oh, I am too far gone, or I am too busy, or when I get my life together, or now is just not the right time, when things calm down at work and home I’ll be more faithful, or I am still trying to discern what God is calling me to do.” If we wait for all of that to happen, until we are ready, the timing is right and everything is perfect then we will be waiting a long time to get back to that covenant we made with God.

Joshua says, “Choose this day.” Don’t wait until tomorrow. Choose today to renew your covenant. Don’t wait. Joshua puts the Israelites on the spot and invites them to renew their covenant with God. Again this is not the last time the Israelites will renew their covenant and it is not the first. A covenant with God is different from any dictionary or human definition because though a covenant with God is binding, God’s covenant with us is full of grace and unconditional love that meets us where we are and draws us into repentance, forgiveness and renewal and transformation again and again and again.

The verses from James remind us that a covenant with God is not private, personal or solitary. I am sure we have all heard John Wesley’s famous quote, “There is no religion but social religion.” That is good news people of God. We are not alone. Look around you. God has given us people to walk this covenanted life with. God has given us people who will make us stronger, support us when we are weak, nurture a deeper faith within us. Yes, I think we all know that sometimes it can be very hard to be a church—after all a church is made up of people. But we have all been called children of God and in each and every one of us is the image of God.

So, today as we renew our covenants with God be mindful that we are also renewing our covenants with our churches and God’s people everywhere. Let us not see ourselves as solitary, disconnected individuals, or separate churches, but let us renew this covenant together as the people of God. And remember that we don’t enter this covenant for no reason at all, but that in covenanting with and God’s people in the here and now we are opening ourselves to God’s grace; we are partnering with God and God’s universal church in the transformation of our world.

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[1] Quoted in Dave Faulkner, “Covenant Service Sermon: the Renewal of God’s Purposes,” Big Circumstance, http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/09/05/covenant-service-sermon-the-renewal-of-gods-purposes/.

Beginning Again: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

preached by Rev. Jeri Katherine Warden Sipes on January 1, 2012 at Wesley Memorial UMC in Columbia, SC

Beginning Again

Here we are at another New Year. It kind of feels like déjà-vu, right? This is my 27^th New Year, and I am beginning again—again. The New Year is a time for resolutions, promises, goals, and renewal. It is a time of “I’m going to” and “I will.” It is a time of expectation and anticipation of what this New Year will hold. It is a fresh start; the slate is clean. How many of you make New Year’s resolutions every new year? I usually do. A few days ago I was talking to Hiram about making a New Year resolution together, and he utterly crushed my New Year resolution enthusiasm. He said, “What’s the point? Everyone always makes New Year’s resolutions, but no one ever really sticks to it.” Like I said at first I was crushed, but then when I really thought about it, I decided that he is right. For the most part the New Year’s resolutions of my past have not seen the months of spring. And usually once I veer from my New Year’s resolutions my attitude is, “Oh well. I’m too far off track now to start that resolution again, and there is so much going on; it’s really not a good time now, or I’m way too busy to stress over a new year’s resolution. I’ll wait until next year to try again.” How many of you have been in a similar place?

Ecclesiastes is a book that we believe was written by wise, old king Solomon; it is his little book of wisdom after living a long, full life. I think Jerry Finotti is our oldest congregant present. She is lovely and wise 97 year-old, and I am sure she would tell you that these verses in chapter 3 describe life—describe the seasons or cycles of life. One of my favorite things about visiting the older members of our congregation is listening and receiving wisdom that many years of life have taught them. I think many, if not all of them, would testify that life is full of ups and downs. These verses in Ecclesiastes are not the same as that cliché, “everything happens for a reason.” If you live long enough you will see that there are times of life at which all these are true.  Good and bad times come to all. There are disappointments and frustrations. There are times we weep and mourn, and times we lose and break down and times we are afraid and at war or feel hate swell within us. But life is also filled with times of love, laughter, embracing, dancing, and peace. And times of birth, rebirth, healing and renewal.

When we mess up, or completely fail and abandon our New Year’s resolutions or other promises or goals, covenants or vows we don’t have to wait until another New Year or until the time is just right to begin again. Ecclesiastes tells us that God is the giver of time, and each day—no each hour is an opportunity to begin again. Yes, life is full of changes and things beyond our control. Ecclesiastes tells us that is just a part of life. But God is the giver of time and of freewill, so we have the power to choose how we use our time and respond to changes, challenges, and things beyond our control.

When I was younger, and still sometimes as an adult, when I am in a bad mood,  my mom, who is with us this morning, says in her peppy, positive way, “You don’t have to be in a bad mood. Just choose to be in a good mood.” When we were younger my sisters and I would get so irritated when she said that because we didn’t believe it was that simple, but as I have grown older and more mature I see that in many ways she is right. We do have a choice of how to respond to any present circumstance—and that is not just putting on a smile and ignoring changes and challenges and things beyond our control. Ms. Sharon and Ms. Quenna have a song they sing with the preschoolers that goes, “Just keep goin’ on/take every knock as a boost/and every stumbling block as a stepping stone/lift up you head and hold your own/just keep going.”

We have a choice to seek God in all things. We have a choice to look for ways God is shaping us, teaching us something, or preparing us for the future as we go through times of death, mourning, break downs, loss, war and hate. God has given us an open future because he has daily given us the power to make each day new, to ask forgiveness, to pray for his guidance and to begin again. Everything can be for a reason if we choose to learn and grow from the good and bad times in our lives. But too often we let our present circumstances determine our futures. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in the middle of all these ups and especially the downs we can seek joy in God in the here and now—but we must make that decision to be partners with God in seeking him in the here and now and allowing the hard times to shape us and make us stronger.

I think like many of our New Year’s resolutions we put off our relationship with God until the timing is just right or we’ve got my life together, or things at work and home calm down a little bit, or we’re just a little less busy or we think we’ll wait to we fully understand what God is calling us to do. But Ecclesiastes tells us to seek God now. Do not wait. The timing might not be right or perfect or your idea of ready, and you might be confused and you may feel like you’re in the dark, but Ecclesiastes tells us don’t let any of that stop you from seeking the joy of God.

God wants you to enjoy life and live life to the fullest in times of birth and death, in times of weeping and laughing, in times of mourning and dancing, in times of love and hate and in times of war and peace. What is holding you back from finding joy in God now? How are you choosing to respond to the good and bad? What is holding you back from a relationship with God in your present circumstance? Where do you see your relationship growing with God and God’s people in the New Year.

As we sing our hymn and prepare to receive Communion; let us remember that coming to the Lord’s Table is a reminder that we can begin again and again and again, that our lives can daily be renewed in God and that God is present in the midst of all times. As we come to the Lord’s Table, come as you are, but come expecting to meet God who is Emmanuel at all times, who meets us where we are, but is not satisfied to leave us the same. Amen.

The Power to Be Children of God: John 1:1-18

preached by Rev. Jeri Katherine Warden Sipes on Christmas morning, December 25, 2011

The Power to Be Children of God

John 1:1-18

You may be very surprised to hear these verses from John’s prologue read as our main scripture text today. John’s “Christmas story” is very different from the other Gospels. It is very different from the story of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2 that we opened the service with; that is the story we know as Christmas. But here in John there is no birth story, no manger, no Mary or Joseph, shepherds, sheep, donkeys, stars, angels or even wise men. You might be saying where is Christmas in these verses? Perhaps John’s words do not warm your heart quite the way the familiar story in Luke 2 does. Perhaps John is too wordy and too focused on words, and in our world that is full of way too many words it is not quite what we want to hear on Christmas morning.

But open the ears of your heart and listen and open your Bibles and look again. John captures the mystery and wonder of Christmas. John’s prologue invites us to not dwell on the details of Jesus’ birth—on the how of Jesus’ birth, but on the why or the purpose of God’s Word made flesh. John’s opening sermon to his Gospel tells us who Jesus is and what that means for us.

I think in today’s world where the sights and sounds of Christmas consumerism have hidden or downplayed the reason we even celebrate the Christmas holiday we need these words in John to bring us back to the heart of the Christmas story. John reminds us of the meaning of Christmas—not with a sweet story of an engaged couple who traveled to Bethlehem, found no room in an inn, settled in a barn where the mother gave birth to a sweet boy whom angels sang and shepherds and magi from far, far away visited. Don’t get me wrong; I too love that Christmas story in Luke, but sometimes in that familiar story we forget just what all that meant and continues to mean for us and the whole world today.

This year our Advent bible study was Adam Hamilton’s Journey to Bethlehem, and for four weeks we looked at different characters of the Bible and we asked questions about the details found in Luke and Matthew. We discussed the age of Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and we asked questions about geographical locations and timelines. Where was Elizabeth’s home? What path did Mary and Joseph take from Nazareth to Bethlehem? What season or month was Jesus really born in? And so on and so on…you get the idea. In the middle of one of the bible studies a sweet lady shook her head, put her head in hands and said with exasperation, “Why are we asking all these questions?! I don’t see the point!” At first I was taken aback because I like to ask curious questions about people in the Bible, but I see what she means and I agree with her. Sometimes we can get so hung up on these trivial detail questions that we fail to notice the larger meaning of the great narrative of Christmas.

John does not keep it simple with a narrative of Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the shepherds. John just gets to the point. He is no storyteller preacher; rather he quickly draws us to the significance and magnitude of Jesus’ birth; like I have said he gets very quickly to the true why of Christmas. The birth of the Christ Child—the Messiah, the one Isaiah promised would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace is no insignificant event in the great story of human history. John tells us that Jesus is God; Jesus is God incarnate; the one lying in the manger is the very one who created the heavens and the earth when the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep. Yes, it is that God of Genesis who now has taken on flesh, who has joined us in human form. The one who created the light now comes to be our light.

And it is that light who has entered our world that has given us life—not just life in eternity, but life in the here and now. John tells us that this Word made flesh has given us power to become children of God today. That is the meaning of Christmas—not just that Jesus was born or that God took on human flesh—all that has meaning for us today. This Christmas John reminds us that God came into our world so that we might know full life in him now. The greatest Christmas present cannot be found under a tree because the greatest Christmas present was given to us on that first Christmas and he continues to be the greatest gift to our world. The world, you and I, are given the gift of life itself and all life’s possibilities—including the possibility or power to call ourselves sons and daughters of God. God has personally involved himself in our world and has personally invited us into his great story of salvation.

One of my favorite theologians whom I have been reading this Advent season is Howard Thurman. In one of his reflections on Christmas he writes: “There is a strange irony in the usual salutation: ‘Merry Christmas.’” He writes that it is a strange irony because for many people the holidays may not be in fact merry. For many reasons life during the holidays may be the un-merriest time of the year. For some it is because there is a lack of food or shelter or love. For some this is the first Christmas without a special loved one. Others may be feeling the financial strain of gift giving. And still others may be lonely, homesick, depressed or suffering. Whatever the reason for un-merriment I think I agree with Howard Thurman that sometimes our Merry Christmases are empty, but this morning John gives us every reason to truly be merry no matter our circumstance—and not only during Christmas, but throughout the ups and downs of life as we know it.

The other day I was listening to the Christmas radio station and “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” came on. For just a brief moment I thought I heard lyrics to that song that I had never heard before. I know that song is a secular Christmas song, so perhaps because I was thinking about John’s prologue I heard for just a minute the message of Christmas. I heard, “Gone away is the bluebird/Here to stay is a new Word/He sings a love song/As we go along/Walking in a winter wonderland.” Now, those are not the lyrics as many of you may know. I had to go look the lyrics up because I thought for years I had been singing the wrong lyrics, but in my mis-hearing I heard the message of Christmas—the message John is trying to get us to see. Gone away are all our blues or as the song says—gone away is the blue bird/here to stay is a new Word/he sings a love song/as we go along.

That is what John is saying. John says that our God who took on human flesh for each one of us does not ignore the darkness of our world; he does not ignore the un-merry times of our lives, but in the midst of all of that God’s light shines, reminding us that our God is Emmanuel; God is with us today just as much as he was physically here on earth more than two-thousand years ago. That is God’s gift of love to the world—a gift of his presence and a promise to never leave us even when we are un-merry, struggling to make ends meet, suffering in emotional, physical and spiritual ways or even when we are confused, doubt, fear or question. God’s unconditional love gift to each one of us took human form so that we humans who at times desperately need physical proof would know that God’s love for us is real. He loves us so much that he sent his only Son so that we might have full life in him in the here and now and in eternity.

But John reminds us that such a present is just that—it is a gift. John reminds us that gifts can be received or refused—that is a very real part of God’s Christmas gift to each of us. I wonder if we asked the kids how many of them would say that this morning they shook a present, opened it and said, “Nah, I think I’ll leave that one under the tree; I don’t want it.” I have never known anyone—especially a child—to refuse a Christmas present that had their name on it under a tree, but nevertheless I guess any gift comes with the option to refuse it. Some people do not know or accept God’s gift of light and life, but as you and I who have the power to call ourselves children of God, who are participants in God’s great salvation narrative are called to shine God’s light into the darkest places of our world so that all may come to know the life and love that was given to us in God Incarnate. That first Christmas present of God himself is a gift that keeps on giving, but it is up to you and me to offer God’s gift to the world. Amen.