Sermon for Feb. 4, 2024 (State of the Parish Address)
Mark 1:29-39
The State of the Parish Address might be a
good time to ask: “Why are we here?”
One way to answer that would be the way the
Church has answered it at least over the past century or so – that the Church’s
purpose is to grow. Immediately, that
spurs disputes between people who understand growth this way or that way – growth
in membership, or attendance, or giving, or learning, or service, or prayer. But whatever metric you use, the focus tends
to fall on the institution: that the Church is the focus, and our job – especially
the job of people in collars – is to build it.
It doesn’t take an expert to see that focusing
on the Church hasn’t served us so well. When
people critique the Church’s relevance and vote with their feet to work out, or
go to the coffee shop, or watch CBS Sunday Morning instead of coming
here, I think what they’re saying is they find exercise, or coffee, or good
journalism to be more valuable than what they think they’ll find here. And yet, we keep at it. It might be time for us to shift the focus. It might be time for us to stop focusing on the
institution and focus on people instead.
So, why are we all here this
morning? Why are you here? We could answer that question faithfully in many
ways. First and foremost: We’re here to follow Jesus. In a sense, that’s the full answer; so, I’m
tempted to stop talking now and go have breakfast. But let’s dig a little deeper. We’re here to follow Jesus’ Great
Commandment, to love God with everything we’ve got and love our neighbors as
ourselves. We’re here to follow Jesus’ Great
Commission, to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). We’re here to love one another deeply, “that
[we] all may be one” as Jesus and the Father are one (John 17:21), so that the world
might see God’s love and join in. Or, as
our parish mission statement puts it, we’re here to “seek God’s healing love
and share that love with all by growing in relationship with God, each other,
and our neighbors.”
All of that is true. And … underlying it might be a certain way of
seeing our relationship with God – maybe a something of transactional perspective. Because Jesus calls me or commands me, I’ll go
and do something for the payoff he promises.
He leads, and I follow, and eventually that’ll get me to heaven.
OK … but maybe there’s something missing.
Last year, I was blessed to take a
sabbatical, and the focus was pilgrimage.
First, I went to the Holy Land, walking in the footsteps of Jesus as he
moved back and forth between what’s now Israel and Palestine. We saw holy stones at holy sites and met “living
stones” of faithful discipleship (1 Peter 2:5), people who follow Jesus now in
a place divided like we can only imagine.
Then, with Ann, I also made a pilgrimage to Britain, visiting cities and
villages from whence our ancestors came and learning their stories of
emigration – the religious and economic pressures that led them to risk
everything for a new life in a new land.
They say pilgrimages like these are life-changing,
and it’s true. I’m not sure I would have
identified myself as a pilgrim before, but now I do. I’m no longer just the Lord’s staff member, ready
for my list of daily assignments. I’m a
pilgrim, journeying with Jesus on a path of deepening discovery, deepening
love, and deepening trust.
So, where are we going?
For me, that’s the next question for us, as
those who walk with Jesus in this family of St. Andrew’s: Where are we going together? And here’s a second, related question, one that
I’ve always frowned on: What’s in it for
me?
Now, that last one may sound like the least
Jesus-y question ever, especially coming from someone in a collar. But I think we must answer that question if the
Church really expects anyone to answer this call we always talk about. For a long time, the institutional Church has
issued Jesus’ call and expected people to follow because … well, because they’re
supposed to. That was the church I grew up
in. You went to worship, and served, and
gave, because … you were supposed to.
But the truth is, the Christian hope is
not about meeting obligations. Jesus
didn’t come as our boss to give us assignments and judge us on our work. Jesus came … let’s see … to bring us healing
and wholeness, as we heard in the Gospel reading today. In fact, he came that “that [you] may have
life, and have it abundantly,” as John’s Gospel puts it.
But wait; the deal gets even better. That abundant life Jesus is offering isn’t just
our reward in heaven once we die. Jesus offers
us the abundance of eternal life now.
One of the benefits of all the funerals we’ve
celebrated recently is that they make you stop and think about what eternal
life really is. Typically, we think of
heaven (if we think of it at all) as some ambiguous “good place” we get to go
if we behave well enough on earth. But
it’s so much more than that, Scripture says. In fact, as you’ve heard me say before, eternal
life is a story with three chapters, a play in three acts. The “good place” we usually imagine is chapter
2, actually, the paradise Jesus promised to the thief on the cross next to him
(Luke 23:39-43). After that, in the fullness
of time, comes chapter 3, when Jesus returns to earth to set the world to
rights, remaking creation and reunifying heaven and earth as God intended in
the beginning.
So, what’s chapter 1? That’s our quest now – a pilgrimage to find
heaven in this life we share, in the inbreaking of God’s reign and rule among
us now. Embodying God’s kingdom on earth
isn’t a project dreamed up either by the conservative righteousness police or the
progressive social-justice reformers. It’s
Jesus’ own promise in the Gospels: “Very
truly I tell you,” he says, “anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent
me has eternal life and … has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). Or this: “Those who believe in me, even
though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will
never die,” he says (John 11:25-26). Or simply
this: “The kingdom of God is among you,”
he says (Luke 17:21). If you’re looking
for heaven, look around.
This year, we’ll begin exploring what it
looks like to go on pilgrimage together in chapter 1 of eternal life, seeking nothing
less than heaven on earth. Now, if
you’re going on a pilgrimage, you have to name your destination – because making
a pilgrimage isn’t the same as wandering in the woods – and you have to set a
course. That course may well shift from
time to time, but at least you need a route to begin.
So, this year, your Vestry and a few other
pilot groups will start identifying, for us at St. Andrew’s – if we found
heaven on earth, what would it look like and feel like? Who would be with us? What would we be doing? How would our day-to-day experience be
different than it was before our pilgrimage began? How would our lives be transformed?
Then, once we’ve discerned that together, we’ll
begin marking out a path – a pilgrim’s pathway to heaven on earth. As we journey toward eternal life day by day, what
signposts would tell us we’re headed the right way? What trails have been blazed by those who’ve
walked this way before? What knowledge
and experience do we need to sustain us along the way? And what foundational preparation do we need before
we can make a good beginning?
Now, this is the State of the Parish
Address, and the state of our parish is an important part of this discernment process,
too. As we move into 2024, it’s not that
everything is perfect in the life of St. Andrew’s, because it never will be,
here in chapter 1. But the Holy Spirit is
moving among us. Take home the Annual
Report after the meeting downstairs, and read through it, and give thanks for
where we find ourselves today. Sunday
attendance is up as worship moves our hearts through Word and sacrament and
song. Pledged giving is up – including more
than double the number of new pledges we typically receive. New members are joining us and stepping into
leadership. The staff is stronger than
it’s ever been – a tremendous blessing to our common life. No, things aren’t perfect. But I think we’re at a point where we should
set our sights beyond tinkering with the details of ministry. I think Jesus is asking us to “come up higher”
(Luke 14:10) even as we keep our feet firmly planted on the ground of eternal
life, chapter 1.
It’s time to ask seriously about the “value
proposition” of church, as the marketing consultants would say: If you follow Jesus as part of the St. Andrew’s
family, what’s in it for you? And it’s
time for the church to provide a pathway to help you find that value in your
life. It’s time for the Church to say
clearly how we can equip you for a journey with Jesus and lead you along the
way. As much as we want the Church to
grow, the Church isn’t here to grow as an institution. The Church is here to turn flatlanders into
mountain climbers, equipping and guiding them for a heavenly trek to find purpose
and meaning and love. Oh, and by the way
– if we actually do that, the Church will grow, too.
So, it’s time to go on pilgrimage together
– a pilgrimage seeking nothing less than heaven on earth.
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