Committing Ourselves to Each Other
Acts 2:44-47
On Pentecost, after the fire and wind of the spirit drove
the disciples from hiding out to proclaim the good news of Jesus in the streets
of Jerusalem, the apostle Peter preached the first sermon in church
history. He explained how the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus was the fulfillment of all the hopes and dreams
of the Hebrew people. He explained how
God wanted to offer love and forgiveness to all people. He
invited anyone willing to follow to join a new movement that would transform
the world.
The result of that sermon and the outpouring of the
spirit that day was the birth of the church, the Christian community. They were all together. They shared all they
had; food, money, time and talents. They
served the poor. They worshiped and
prayed together.
Many, many things have changed since that day 2,000 years
ago but the essential nature of the Church remains the same. In their movement to reform the Church of
England in the 18th century, John and Charles Wesley organized the
Methodists to be that essential community in their time and place. When we at Church of the Wayfarer are truly
the Church we are a community of people “…Reaching up, Reaching in and Reaching
out…”
Our mission statement echoes Jesus’ teaching of the
Greatest Commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with heart, soul, mind
and strength [Reaching up], and you shall love your neighbor [Reaching out] as
your love yourself [Reaching in].” (Matthew 22:34-40).
Whatever we do as a church or as faithful individuals is
to reach up, in and out. We even
structure our Sunday morning worship by that mission.
We are all in this together. We can’t, nor have we ever been able to,
achieve such goals all on our own.
That’s no different now as it was back 2,000 years ago.
The music might be different. The languages spoken would be certainly
strange to those first century brothers and sisters. The context of our history would be alien to
them as much as theirs would be to ours.
Yet we would have the essential nature of our community very much in
common; worship, prayer, service and sharing our resources with each other.
During
the Sunday service on two weeks ago, I asked the congregation to jot down their
first thoughts when asked “How has Church of the Wayfarer touched your
life?” These edited responses describe the spirit of
our church and the reason that we give financially to keep this place going:
-COTW
has brought us to so many wonderful people, both through the congregation and
even strangers we meet who are “wayfarers” visiting Carmel.
-It’s
amazing how much peace, clarity and invigoration just sitting in this beautiful
sanctuary can bring.
-Having
a nice minister who likes to bake pies!
-A
community and closer and deeper communion with God on my spiritual journey.
-It
has brought me back to God.
-The
instrument for my children and grandchildren learning that God loves them.
-Support
during times of personal grief.
-A
place to always learn something new.
-A
place to focus on gratitude, peace, justice and love.
-The
church has guided me to use my intellect and talents to serve other in our
community, especially those in need.
-I
am not as lost as when I first came.
-I have
had the chance to do different things that I never even thought or knew about.
More
than an institution, a church like ours is the community from which we “Reach
Up, Reach In and Reach Out”. What a
privilege to support it with our time, talent and gifts!
In a few minutes we will be celebrating an opportunity
for generosity. We will be asking every
household here to make an informal, symbolic commitment to support the 2015
Operations of Church of the Wayfarer.
We will not be doing this as they did in a church in
Kansas years ago. Before the service
began the pastor approached the organist and asked that she play “appropriate
music” when it came time to collect the pledges for their annual financial
campaign. The pastor was going to ask
everyone willing to give $ 1,000 a year to the church to “stand up and be
counted”. The organist was a little
confused and asked the pastor, “What do you mean by appropriate music?” To which he replied, “Why, the Star Spangled
Banner of course!”
Hopefully
you brought a commitment card with you, or maybe you have already sent it in,
or if you’d like one please just raise your hand and the ushers will be glad to
bring you one. Please jot down your
estimate for giving next year, either in a dollar figure or a percentage of
annual income. If you leave us your
contact information we will use that information to thank you and keep you up
to date with our progress; no salesman will call! No one will ever suggest that ‘you are behind
on your pledge’! We don’t do that and
won’t do that! Our elected financial
decision makers and staff need to know if they can ‘count us in!’ to support
next year’s Operations, so even if its only $ 10 a week put something down so
you can feel a part of this important next step in the life of our church.
Bonnie and I did our math in preparation for this
day. We have practiced the spiritual
discipline of tithing since we were first married and in seminary; tithing is
giving 10% of one’s annual income as described in the Bible. We tithe my salary each month to Church of
the Wayfarer. We offer a second tithe
and then some to a number of church and non-profit efforts that mean a lot to
us; the Alzheimer’s Association, the School of Theology at Claremont and a
number more. Now you may dismiss all
this as what one would except to come from a preacher. But the fact is that Bonnie and I love to
give and we have a lot to give. For us
giving is a joy and a privilege.
You and I have the opportunity as supporters of Church of
the Wayfarer to grow in our faith, love each other and offer the hundreds of
sojourners that come to Carmel each and every day, even if only for a moment as
they visit our sanctuary or stroll through out garden, to touch on something
bigger than themselves. Together we are
making a positive difference in our lives and the world.
We want everyone to feel a part of it, whatever they are
able to give. Because we are all in
this together. Because when the church
is the Church we gather to worship, pray, serve and share, just like the
Pentecost folks, just like the first Methodists, so many years ago.
As we make our offering this morning we are not just
committing our money, we are committing ourselves to each other.
Amen.
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