Kingdom of God

Our King rides a Donkey (Sermon March 29, 2015 Palm Sunday)

John 12:12–16 (NRSV)

Black ink and watercolors on paper bound between wood boards covered with dark brown kidskin.
Getty Center
Los Angeles, CA USA

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

(Mt 21:1–11; Mk 11:1–11; Lk 19:28–40)

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. ¹³ So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—

the King of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

¹⁵    “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.

Look, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

¹⁶ His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.

Today we celebrate the announcement of the king! Jesus during the festival came into the city of David while people cheered and waved palms celebrating a new era of history. The restored kingdom of God!

Every year we celebrate this day because it is one of the greatest days of the year within our faith. I wonder if the power of this day has lost some of its splendor through the commonality. At first we cannot forget the significance of the proclamation.

The crowds went out to meet the parading disciples in the streets of Jerusalem. The palms were there for a very important reason, the palms were used to provide a roof over the heads of the travelers as they made temporary shelters as they made their pilgrimages to the festival. The amount of travelers in the city would have ranged between a 100,000 to a million people depending on who you read, but the reality is that the city was packed full. People were setting up shelters wherever they could, along the roadways and in the desolate places outside of town. People returning to the city of David to celebrate the Passover from the far eastern regions of the Persian empire, the western expanse of the Roman Empire, and even people from the heart of Ethiopia. Dispersed children of Israel as well as curious gentiles that feared and respected the God of Israel all traveling and camping around the great city of God. Tabernacles were built to protect these weary travelers from the elements as they sought to draw closer to God.

The significance of the palms runs even deeper because they are a symbol of victory in the ancient world. When ancient warriors would return home from battle the populous would wave palms in the air in celebration. This was done throughout the ancient world, a tradition among the Hebrews as well as the gentile nations. So we have camps of people lining the streets, as they saw the disciples approaching with Jesus they began dismantling their tents, their dwellings offering all that they had available to them to honor this traveling teacher that inspired them to dream about the emerging kingdom of God all around them.

As the people began to cheer and chant, Jesus found a young donkey and rode it into the throng. While they cheered, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus did not turn from this pronouncement but accepted it, embraced it, Jesus is the King of Israel. The imagery is strong within these words. As ancient kings and tribal leaders paraded into the villages they would wear their greatest ceremonial gear, freshly cleaned and shined, and mounted upon their finest horse. The horses would be tall and proud, their heads were held high and their feet beat into the ground in time as everyone cheered. Jesus also rode into the crowds upon a beast of burden, but there is a striking difference. Jesus did not ride on a tall and powerful warhorse breed but a donkey. This speaks volumes of the identity of the emerging kingdom of God that the crowds were hoping for. War and victory are not something one would find donkey involved in. When I was younger, there was a traveling show that would visit the communities around the area that would recruit people to engage in a game of basketball while riding on a donkey. The reason they did this was because when it comes to competition donkeys are not the stead of choice. They are stubborn, they tend to have a mind of their own, and really only mind their owners. This makes for a hilarious show as you see amateur donkey jockeys trying their hardest to coax their beast to participate in a game, but goes to show that a cavalry of donkeys would be an army of clowns. I am not saying that Jesus’ parade was humorous, but only that his chosen means of transportation was not exactly what we might expect.

Donkeys are intelligent and loyal animals that are very willing to do assist in their master’s work, but require gentle persuasion. Donkeys are used for many tasks from pulling carts and plows or bearing a load upon their backs. They are small and surefooted, but have a very powerful instinct of self-preservation. They were and are common animals, common meaning strong yet fairly inexpensive. They were not the beast used to express great wealth or power, but were the gentle beast of burden owned by the common people. A young donkey as mentioned in this passage is a donkey that is untrained, not yet fit to do work. The king of Israel, the king of kings, and lord of lords was paraded into the city of David, the jewel of Israel, upon a common unfit and untrained beast. Not a conquering warhorse, not even a strong ox, but a common donkey. What does this say about the kingdom of God?

The crowd had been waiting centuries for a king that would lead them in the ways of God, that would again bring the blessing of the Lord to their lands. They thought they had found it again as they returned from exile but they were quickly conquered again by a foe that was even worse than Babylon. They rose up and pushed the dark forces back only to be tricked into selling their security to yet another tyrannical empire. It was a cycle that continued from the beginning of their history as a nation. I say this because this all began when the people originally cried for a king to fight their battles for them and to lead them into prosperity. A king was not in God’s plan but he allowed it because the people desired a king, but God told Samuel that by asking for a king they were rejecting God as being their lord and true sovereign king.

I am not saying that the kingdom of Israel and Judah were all bad. David was a king after God’s own heart and the scriptures are filled with song of praise written by this king of Israel, but slowly the people turned from God and began to put more and more trust into the hands of their leader. Within two generations the kingdom of Israel divided and fell further from God’s intended plan where they would be his people and he would be their God. God’s plan was to be the one and only lord of their lives, but years after year they placed their trust not in God alone but in their worldly kings, who fought their battles and consumed the work of their hands.

The people wanted the warhorse but the king paraded through the crowds on a donkey. They called for a king to lead them victoriously to freedom, but they received something different. The point of the palms and donkey is that true victory comes through the common, unfit, and unlikely. The kingdom of God is not the kingdom of man.

When Jesus began to preach he said, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” This does not merely mean that it is near, but literally here all around us. It was found right where they were it was not something that had to be conquered with swords and spears but one that simply had to be seen and acknowledged. The kingdom was found in the child that was curious enough to ask the question why, it is found in the disciple seeking God under the fig tree, it was found in the synagogue and on the streets. The kingdom was found on the mats of the lame and in the hearts of the blind. The kingdom of God is at hand it is all around us, here today and unto the ages.

Why then do we not see the kingdom of God? Why does it seem that so often the kingdoms of darkness seem to overtake the kingdom of light? Why did Jesus right triumphantly through his victory parade on a donkey?

When you are able to answer that last question you will begin to see the kingdom of God. All too often skew our understandings of God to meet our desires and because of this our view of the kingdom is hampered in fog. The people wanted a king to trample their enemies so that is the king they tried to find. But in the fog around them they failed to see that the victory of their king was not in trampling the enemy but bringing them into fellowship through friendship. Our king rides a donkey.

The kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of man. Jesus said that whoever wants to be the greatest must be a servant of all; that the first will be last and the last will be first. He said to the wealthy rulers that to enter the kingdom they must sell all they have that gave them worldly power and give it to the poor. Everything about God’s kingdom is opposite and opposed to the kingdoms of the world. Jesus rode a donkey not a warhorse.

We often miss the kingdom because our eyes are not trained on the common but on hills far away. When Jesus said that the kingdom of God is at hand he did not say that it is in the seats of power, or in a future time after death only, but all around us. It is common. It is found right here in our communities. The reason that God was grieved at the idea of Israel having a king is that this redirected the people’s eyes off of their community and placed them out on the high hills. This can distract the attention away from what God is calling us to do where we are. Often these high hills are not wrong but they can distract us. To turn the governing bodies into God fearers is important, feeding the hungry of the world is important, providing for the medical needs of the billions of humans in the world is important, but often those big goals cloud our vision and distort our view of the kingdom. I have had several friends leave the church because of distortions just like these. Some leave because they see the church as powerless to meet the great needs so they look to the powers of the world to provide for the needs. Or they turn from God because they have invested so much time and energy into a project and see just growing needs that they cannot provide for. But Jesus rode in victoriously on a donkey.

The kingdom of God is here. We will not see it in Washington or New York, in India or Ireland unless we first are able to see it right here. This is why God himself had to come to live among mankind because through Jesus’ life and teaching He showed us how to begin to see the kingdom of God where we are. It comes through making it our custom to worship Him, withdrawing to isolated places to pray, and to serve our community. It comes when we become people focused on Loving God, embracing his Holy Spirit, and living the love of Jesus with others. The kingdom can be experienced here today and forevermore when we redirect our attention away from the war horses and start looking at the donkeys.

The kingdom of God is not in a nation, but is in the individual lives of people within each community. It is built on life at a time, one individual at a time, one family at a time. We do not need to force people to conform but encourage our friends and neighbors to live a life of loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. That is the kingdom of God. It is victorious in the commonality. It is a king riding a donkey victorious.

As we enter into this time of open worship and holy expectancy I would encourage each of us to consider the image of Jesus on that common beast of burden, consider where we are looking to see and experience the Kingdom of God, and where we are investing our time and energy. Are we able to see the kingdom of God in the lives of those around us or is our vision clouded by things beyond our control? Love your enemy, pray for those that persecute you, turn the other cheek, do not worry, and care for those that cannot care for themselves these are the things Jesus calls us to do right here because that is where the kingdom of God really is and our king rides a donkey.

Living Beyond the Veil (sermon February 15, 2015)

Mark 9:2–9 (NRSV)

mid 12th century
Cappella Palatina di Palermo
Palermo, Italy

The Transfiguration

(Mt 17:1–8; Lk 9:28–36; 2 Pet 1:16–18)

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

(Mt 17:9–13)

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

2 Corinthians 4:3–6 (NRSV)

³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Living Beyond the Veil

One of the most annoying speeches that every child has ever heard when they embark on a much anticipated field trip has to be, “Remember when you are out there you represent your school.” I always wondered why they said that it was not like any of us really cared what reputation the school had. It was school that is it, we had to go and we finally got a chance to break free and live a little. Of course along with that speech came the realization that if we did misbehave we would not get to go on another fieldtrip for a very long time. But what do people see when they look at us?

Each of us though we are unique individuals, still reflect the community in which we live. We reflect the culture that our parents, our friends, our schools, our civic organizations, and our religious background have given us. We mirror the things that we have seen and as others come into our spheres of influence we reflect our culture onto them and then they in turn reflect it back. What do people see when they look at us?

Paul in today’s reading tells us something very profound. He speaks about a veil saying, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Think about that for a moment. Initially we think that those that are perishing are the ones that cannot see, but that is not what he is saying he is saying even if our gospel is veiled. He is saying that we are being hidden, or more accurately we are hiding from those that are perishing. Covering the gospel, blending in to the culture around us, hiding, but why? Paul says that those in the world have an excuse, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” They are blind and unable to see the light, but this does not explain why we ourselves are veiled.

The veil is something that our culture does not fully understand, because the western world has done away with this practice, but there are cultures that would understand quite well what image Paul is trying to portray. We look at these cultures and we immediately judge them and begin to complain that they are mistreating a segment of their population, and to be honest I would probably agree with you because I live in a culture that does not appreciative the veil. But the veil is there for a purpose, to hide the beauty. To keep what is behind the veil secret from all but the one it is intended for. There is a barrier between the veiled and the revealed, a barrier that cuts off the opportunity of friendship because the one behind the veil is hidden from the outside.

The physical veil is not used in our culture but we still hide. We hide our true selves behind many different masks, we hide behind walls that shield ourselves from intimacy because we are afraid to be vulnerable. We keep our guard up, hoping that we can trick those that look at us into believing some sort of acceptable character of who we truly are. We hide because if someone really knew me then would they find me acceptable? Would they accept me if they knew I had struggles, would they love me if they knew my past, would they even talk to me if they knew what I really thought, would they like me if they knew me? Before we even give them a chance we cut them off, we live behind a veil.

Paul tells us, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.” The danger of an individualistic society like ours is that there is such a strong desire to be seen in a good light. We want to stand on our own, we want to be seen as successful among whatever group we identify with. The funny thing about that is that within that very statement there is a paradox. We want to be individuals yet we want to be accepted within a community. We want be seen as successful in ourselves, yet under the standards of a community. Maybe we have gotten things a bit backward. We are unique individuals, gifted in various ways but it is the community that honors those gifts. Before we get all defensive, just think about it for a moment. If you have a million dollars but nowhere to spend it, and no one to share it with, you have nothing of value. Our currency and our ability to earn wealth only has value if we are living within a community. Outside of a community the only thing of value are the things that keep you alive: food, shelter, water, air. It is in a community that culture develops and that the uniqueness of individuals can be celebrated and honored. The ability to write a novel has no benefit without others who want to read, our businesses would have no meaning if there were not a community to buy our product or services. So what Paul is speaking about is that instead of focusing of ourselves we should focus on Jesus. Instead of using our uniqueness for our own gain we should use it to proclaim Christ.

This is the sticker though, if we do not use all that we have to proclaim Christ within the community, we are veiled and we are being ruled by the gods of this world. Veiled by definitions of success that have no meaning to Christ. Veiled by the desires of being accepted by others when Christ is calling us to do something totally different. Veiled by our culture and interoperating everything about ourselves through the eyes of that culture. Yes, we are veiled. When we focus our attention on things outside of Christ we are veiling the gospel, we are veiling it with ourselves and our desires instead of letting the light of Christ shine though us. We are stepping up to be the master of our universe instead of submitting to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Let us look now at the passage in Mark, where Jesus is up on the mountain with Peter, James and John. They went up there to pray in an isolated place because that is the rhythm of life that Jesus was trying to teach them and during that time of prayer something amazing happened. There with Jesus the disciples saw Moses and Elijah standing beside him and Jesus was dressed in garments that were whiter than human hands had the ability to bleach. They were shocked and amazed, they did not know how to even begin to grasp what was going on around them. So Peter pipes up because he has this annoying habit of having to speak in awkward situations. “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, let us build three tents…” There are veiled words coming out of Peter’s mouth. Words that reflect the culture and the community that he is wishing to impress. Jesus is there standing with Moses and Elijah and Peter says Rabbi, teacher let us build tents and stay here.

We may not catch it immediately. Moses is seen by the culture as being the great law giver, the first and most important of all the rabbis. It was through Moses that the very first teachings of God were given to the tribes of Israel, the first interpretations of greater meaning which allowed them to build a community and thrive as a culture. Moses is the greatest of men. Then there is Elijah. This is the greatest of all the prophets, whose name means my God is Yahweh. Elijah challenged the false gods of the world, called fire down from heaven to prove that God is God, and was carried up to heaven without tasting death. Moses gave them faith, Elijah defended their faith. Moses establish a people, Elijah preserved and saved the people. The greatest of men together, one represents the law, the other the prophets. These two men define the faith of Israel. So Peter sees this and begins to think Jesus is equal to these men let us build on this.

Peter was looking at this through the eyes of the culture Jesus is equal to Moses, the law, and equal to Elijah the prophet the third great era of Jewish history is about to begin building on the law and the prophets. Though this is not entirely wrong it is not exactly what the scene was showing. Moses and Elijah were standing there talking with Jesus. Moses the Law giver was speaking with Jesus. Elijah the great prophet was speaking to Jesus. They were praying, seeking the advice and council of Jesus, not Jesus seeking guidance from them. It was Moses and Elijah that came to meet Jesus on that mountain. You might say but they were dead for centuries how could they have been speaking to Jesus, but that is the true mystery. When we enter in prayer we enter into the realm of God which is not bound by the same dimensions of man. What these three disciples were seeing that day was the divine nature of Jesus. But they were unable to see through the veils before their eyes, and they assumed equality with men, not equality with God was being revealed to them. So when Peter spoke God rebuked. “This is my Son, the Beloved; Listen to Him.”

The veils we live behind are defined by our culture but Paul is calling us to partake of a different kind of culture. Instead of cultures defined by the gods of the world, a culture defined by the one true God who created the heavens and the earth. And God is telling the disciples and us to listen. Moses sought the council of Jesus and from that council the nation was establish, but mankind did not fully follow and they began to listen to the gods of the world. They twisted and perverted the words of God to such a degree that it became necessary for the prophets to emerge to set things right. Elijah sought the council of Jesus because he felt alone in a world that rejected God. From the teaching of both these men, the rabbinical Jewish faith that was seen in Jesus day emerged after it grew in exile. Both versions of the faith began very similar there was an awakening of faith and people responded but over time veils emerged and interpretations began to twist and turn until the faith that was once so powerful coming from the very mouth of God began to look as dark as the world it was created to redeem. Then Jesus came saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Calling us to follow Him. On that mountain we were not called to follow just another great teacher but to follow God Himself.

So why do we live behind veils? Jesus, God Himself, came showing us the life and lifestyle he created us to live in. I life of worship, prayer, and service to others. Yet we live behind veils. Do we not believe that Jesus can redeem? Do we not believe that Jesus can save and reconcile the world to himself? Do we not trust that he can do what he promises to do? Will we not entrust our lives to the one that can conquer the sting of death? The veils we live behind speak volumes of the culture we wish to reflect, cultures that are ruled by the gods of the world: god that have taken on different names but they still remain the same, gods of war, gods of greed, gods of sensuality. Elijah stood against those gods and said “My God is the one true God.” Moses stood against those gods and demanded that his people be released from bondage. These two men met Jesus on that mountain across the dimensions of time, and God tells us listen to him. Drop the veils and become a people of God. A people that is defined by loving Him and loving their neighbor. A people that desires to participate in the lifestyle He himself lived with us, a lifestyle of worship, prayer, and service. A lifestyle loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others. It is not ourselves but Jesus that we should reflect, it is not our culture but the culture of Christ that we should seek to reflect and expand. Let us let that light shine in the darkness.

Becoming (sermon February 8, 2015)

1 Corinthians 9:16–23 (NRSV)

Daumier, Honoré, 1808-1879
Palace of the Legion of Honor
San Francisco, CA USA

¹⁶ If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! ¹⁷ For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

¹⁹ For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

What are the things we are proud of? For me I am proud of my sons, my wife and her creativity, my education, maybe even my heritage, but of all the things I am proud of I am proud to be able to serve as a pastor. This idea of ministry is what changed the very course of my life. Most of you have heard my calling which began across the ocean in Ukraine, but became very real in a pickup truck sitting in a park while I was trying to nap between classes and one of my several jobs that year. I still feel the excitement of that day when I think about it. Words of scripture seemed to come across the airways and burrow deep in my soul, asking me “Do you Love me?”

Do you love me? I was working that year at probably my dream job, I was working with a respected soil scientist with the hopes of entering into a career in agricultural research, but all at once the course of my life shifted. Suddenly four simple words ignited a fire in my soul that I could not extinguish. Do you love me? It was as if God was challenging and daring me to respond, and the response that was required took me from the high plains of Kansas to the urban metropolis of Kansas City. Even then I did not know exactly what was going to happen but doors began to open. Those doors led me to Winfield, Arkansas City, Wichita, and back to Kansas City. There were challenges, heartbreak, and joy. But through it all there was one thing that was amazing, I had the privilege to see people open up their hearts and deepen their faith.

For a farm kid from Kansas one would not think that urban ministries would be where God would lead me. Most would see me in a rural setting speaking to the people and the culture that I had encountered for my entire life. But that is not what was required. That would be too comfortable. God does not call us to be comfortable, he calls us to live on the edge of total abandon.

Paul was called to a similar life. He was called to preach the Gospel. In his heart burned a fire that would not allow him to do anything other than share the Gospel of Jesus. He say, “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel.” Have you ever really considered this statement? Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel? This sort of passion is what I hope each of us has the privilege to experience. Such drive and passion that we could not even consider our lives in any other way.

This passion is when we live according to our personal callings. Not everyone is called to live a life like Paul, not all of us have the gift of apostleship. Not all of us have the gift of teaching, or healing, hospitality, or preaching. But if we are called to Christ we have a gift for ministry. Every person that is in this building, every person in this community is here for a specific reason, every person here has a specific task that if pursued would draw our community closer to Christ and expand His kingdom to influence more people.

The scary thing about that is that everyone here is important. Why is that scary? Because if we accept that someone else is just as important as ourselves we cannot control what is going on. We lose a bit of ourselves and suddenly the future begins to blur. Paul goes on to say that he is obligated to proclaim the gospel. This obligation has risks. If he releases control to proclaim the Gospel the he has to release his life into the hands and the giftedness of others. How will he survive? How will he afford to continue to spread the Word? What if he is not received? Yet still he says “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel.”

Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! There is a passion in those words that I hope each of us taste. This passion comes from deep within our hearts, it is the essence of who we are and who God created us to be. This passion is a mixture of special gifts of the spirit and the uniqueness of every individual. Man and God working together toward a common goal. Our giftedness begins with understanding who we are as individuals and grows from there. God can create out of nothing but usually he builds on what is already there. This is seen throughout history to the very dawn of time. There is a progression of increasing complexity in the story of creation, and then as the crowning glory God creates man in His own image out of dust. He used what was already there to bring about something greater, and then He breathes life into it. This is what how spiritual gifts work. There is within each of us something to build on, something that makes us uniquely receptive to participate in a ministry but then there is also something missing something that is beyond our own abilities that allows God to shine through our lives.

Personally I know what my passions were and continue to be. I enjoy learning. I enjoy looking at things from different perspectives and studying them. That is why my dream Job before God called me to ministry was in the sciences. I have a passion to know, to study, to find answers. God built on this passion of mine, but I would not be in here if it was in my own strength. This is where spiritual gifts come to play. I would be content just studying, I would love to spend all day observing, and recording results, but that was not what God had in mind. The problem is God did not call me to be a researcher He called me to preach. This is extremely difficult because I do not talk. To be perfectly honest I could spend an entire day without saying a word and I would think it was a great day. Yet God called me not only to talk but to stand before a group to speak. In my own strength I would never do this, yet there is a passion burning within me that I can see no other life. Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel.

What are our passions? What are our gifts? What are our ministries? I wish I could quickly provide an answer for those questions. But if I could then there would be a problem. It would be an answer based on myself and not on God. TO answer those questions requires a life of discipline. A life that is engaged in the holy rhythm of life that Jesus showed us during his ministry. A life of worship, prayer and service. It is through prayer that we open our lives up to a conversation with God, and it is through worship where we as a church collectively meet together to praise God and encourage those around us to continue walking. There is the personal and the corporate. We personally feel the call and then those around us confirm that calling and encourage us to walk in that direction. This is why the gathering for worship is important, it is when we gather collectively that the spirit of God reflects off of others and we can begin to see more clearly. But we gather not just to praise God but to be sent out to extend the kingdom, and use the gifts that he has given us.

This is where things get interesting. Paul is called to proclaim the Gospel. He says that he has an obligation to proclaim, that even though he is free to do other things he is compelled to proclaim the Gospel. He is a slave to this task so that the kingdom can expand. Think about that for just a moment. Though he is fee, he makes himself a slave for the kingdom. He goes on to say that he become like a Jew to win the Jews, like one under the law to win the ones under the law, he becomes like one outside the law to win those outside the law, he becomes weak to win the weak. He becomes things to all people so that he can win some. These are some of the most disturbing and most powerful words in the epistles. They are disturbing because within these words there is a risk of losing everything yet they are powerful because there is the hope of gaining even more.

What is it to become like something? When we read these word we often find ourselves cringing because it sounds like Paul is being too open and too accepting. He is becoming, joining or compromising something important. When we cringe we are probably misunderstanding what is being said. The word become deals with awareness. It speaks of experiencing life from a different perspective and moving around in that state. When Paul says that he becomes a Jew with the Jews he is proclaiming the Gospel through a perspective that the Jews would understand. And when he speaks of becoming one outside the law, he does not mean that he is throwing everything out, but that he proclaims the Gospel through a perspective of those outside the law. He is aware of where these people are and how to speak to them. He gains that perspective by moving within their circles, going where they go, eating what they eat, and building on what they know. There is a risk in doing this, because when we become aware and move around in the circles of people outside our comfort zone we run the risk of becoming something different.

But woe is me if I don’t proclaim the Gospel. Where would we be if Paul did not become, if Paul did not become aware of a different perspective? Where would we be if Paul stayed Saul? Paul risked everything to proclaim the Gospel and he lost everything he was proud of yet he gained the kingdom. What would happen if we too would release ourselves to the passions of God? What would happen if we became aware of the perspectives of those outside of these walls? These questions are the ones that make us cringe, because when we consider these things we are faced with losing ourselves to something outside of our control. We move beyond our places of comfort and must rely on others to provide in our areas of weakness. What if we became like the person down the street?

I have often wondered why I ended up in the areas I have been. Why did God send me to one of the largest cities in Ukraine, instead of a rural community? Why did God call me to preach when I do not even like to talk? Why would He put such a strong desire in my heart to proclaim the Gospel in an urban setting when I just want to go home and sit on a tractor to work the land? The reason is because the ministry that he has called each of you to participate in is uniquely coupled with the ministry that he has called me to. The things our community needs are wrapped up in the gifts that God has given each of us. But it is not necessarily the things we desire. To win our community we must become our community, we must open ourselves up to seeing things from their perspective and begin to proclaim the gospel in a language they understand. We must lose ourselves to the ones God wishes to win and in doing so we will find who we truly are. To win this community to the kingdom, we must become a slave to the community, become vulnerable, be moved by what moves them so that we can speak as one with them and join them as they walk the journey with Christ.

Does that make you cringe just a bit? I hope so, because then we know that the Spirit is at work. But the next question is which direction will we choose? Will we move into our community or will we stay in comfort? Will we risk all we have known or will we let what we have wither on the vine? Will we sow the seed and work the soils or will we harden our hearts to the very people God has called us to? Will we join Paul and say woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.

I began by asking what we are proud of I want to close by again asking what are we proud of? Are we proud of standing our ground or are we proud of the ministry that God has given us? Are we proud of ourselves or are we proud of those that we have helped along the way? There are things to be proud of in this meeting, each of those things are coupled around individuals being used not within the church but outside. I am proud of this Meeting because I know there is much more that can be done and we are nearing a place where we are willing to lose ourselves to become the light in our community. I am proud because we are beginning to think less about ourselves and more about people outside these walls. Yes I am proud of our facility but I am proud in that only because we are in a better position to serve those around us. I am proud because each of us are beginning to say, “I do all for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may share in its blessing.” It is not about us, but it is about them. It is not about our influence but God’s influence in their lives. Let us lose ourselves for the sake of the Gospel and see the glory of Christ be honored in our community.