When I read the lessons for today, a song was immediately brought to
mind. It’s a contemporary Christian song, not found in the
1982 hymnal, written by a Grammy award–winning
singer/songwriter. The lyrics say this:
Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I’ll follow you.
Who you love, I’ll love
How you serve, I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you.
|
|
In the reading from 1Kings we hear Elisha’s desire to leave his
father and mother to follow Elijah. Elijah tells him to go
back. He returns, slaughters his oxen and provides food for the
people. After completing this act of service and love, he set
out to follow Elijah and become his servant.
|
|
In the New testament reading from Galatians, Paul tells the people of
Galatia that the law is summed up in one commandment, “You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.”
|
|
Two words from these readings have always resonated with me: Follow
and Love. In fact they have been crucial in determining may
life’s journey to the diaconate. Some of you may
ask “What are deacons, and what exactly do they
do?” I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal
Church as a young girl, but all that I knew about deacons
was “the man” who did different things, especially at the
altar, on Sunday morning.
|
|
In my teen years, I often found myself providing services to other,
especially to those who seemed to have less than our family – and
by no means were we rich. I remember redeeming soda bottles,
placing the money in my “Mite Box” so that I could proceed
to put it in the basket in front of the altar. I knew that the
money was going to help others that had less than we did. It
wasn’t until I finished school, got married, had children, that
I inquired about deacons. I asked Deacon Betty – by that
time women had been ordained – about the diaconate. What
she told me was interesting, but I was too busy with church, career
and children.
|
|
Fast forward about 20 years to my move to Georgia and enrollment in EfM
(Education for Ministry) classes. I couldn’t shake
the feeling that God was calling me to do something different, perhaps
it was the Diaconate. So after 4 years of EfM I remember telling
the class that I still wanted to explore the possibility of becoming a
deacon. After completing the application I was surprised when I
received notification that I had been accepted as a postulant for
ordination to the diaconate. That was 14 years ago!
|
|
What most people don’t know is that there are 2 kinds of
deacons – vocational/permanent and transitional
deacons. Transitional deacons are individuals who spend about 6
months between seminary and ordination to the presbytery as
deacons. I’m a vocational deacon or what I often say is a
“real” deacon. As such I have no desire, nor call to
become a priest.
|
|
Deacons serve the Church in 3 ways. First, we are to make
Christ and his redemptive love known by word and example. This
is why a deacon always reads the Gospel. Second, we are to
interpret to the Church the needs, hopes and concerns of the
world. Third, we assist the Bishop and priests in public
worship and ministration of God’s word and sacraments.
|
|
I believe the church needs deacons more than ever as we are envoys of
Christianity to the world. We are also charged with never letting
the Church forget that we, Christians, are all servants teaching with our
actions of service in the world. In addition to my responsibilities
as archdeacon for forming new deacons, my ministry in the world is
carrying on the work of Dismantling Racism and initiating social
justice initiatives.
|
|
As baptized Christians, we are called to serve and spread the Love and
Good News of Jesus Christ. So you may be thinking, “How can
I do that?” First – We SEE, within our church
and within the community. Then we SPEAK to others in order to
gather information and acquire different perspectives. Third, we
SERVE. Last, we MOBILIZE others.
|
|
What about you, the good people of All Angels, Eatonton?
|
|
In our Gospel reading from Luke – verse 59, Jesus said:
“Follow me”, not once, not twice, but three times.
|
|
In those words you find the heart fo the Christian Gospel.
|
|
In the Great Commission of Matthew 28, Jesus tells his church to go
and make disciples – that is people who follow him.
|
|
Songwriter Keith Green, said this: “Going to Church no
more makes you a Christian than going to McDonald’s makes you a
hamburger.”
|
|
You can go to church every Sunday and take communion whenever it suits
you, but that isn’t a divine insurance policy. That in
itself doesn’t make you a Chrtistian.
|
|
Let me give you an example from history:
|
|
John Wesley had been an Anglican clergyman for many years before he
became a Christian. He had been a missionary in Georgia – and
still was not a Christian.
|
|
His conversion experience happened on the evening of 24th May
1738. Wesley had gone very unwillingly to a nonconformist
meeting in London where someone was reading Martin Luther’s
preface to the epistle to the Romans.
|
|
Here’s what Wesley wrote in his journal about the transformation
that occurred as he listened to Luther’s preface:
|
|
“About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change
which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart
strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for
salvation: and an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my
sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
|
|
It is easy to be involved in Church but not committed to being a
disciple of Christ.
|
|
It is easy to believe in Christ intellectually and give him an hour of
your time on Sunday but that is not enough.
|
|
Jesus calls each one of us to follow him 24/7. He doesn’t
want us just to be “involved in Church” – he wants
disciples “committed to follow him”.
|
|
What is the difference you might ask.
|
|
I’ll give you an analogy.
|
|
Take bacon and egg.
|
|
In bacon and egg, the hen is involved, but the pig is committed.
|
|
Following Christ ̫ being a disciples of Christ should impinge on
the way you live.
|
|
I believe what Christ is saying is that being a disciple is a lifelong
commitment. It’s a call that can’t be put off, and
it’s a call that once taken up mustn’t be put
down. It’s no use deciding to follow Jesus and then reverting
every now and then to your old lifestyle. It’s no use
committing your life to Jesus and a few years later deciding
you’ve done enough and someone else can take over now.
|
|
As I look around the church today I see that most, like me, are
retired. Retired from paid employment that is, but not retired
from life I hope. In fact most people I know who are retired are
busier now than they were when they were being paid. But the
question is, are you busy doing God’s work? Are
you still committed to following Jesus along the way of the
cross? As far as i can see it there’s no biblical
precedent for retiring from Christian ministry.
|
|
We can all continue to minister for Jesus until our drying
breath. Jesus’ call to go and proclaim the Kingdom of
God continues to apply to us throughout our life. And the
imperative just gets greater the older you get, because, let’s
face it, the time left to you is getting shorter. The
imperative to proclaim the Kingdom of God never stops being relevant.
|
|
The call to be single minded as a servant of God never ceases.
|
|
Most, if not all, all of us here today are Christians and so, in some
way or another we have chosen to follow the Christian way of life.
|
|
So I would like to ask the question:
|
|
If you decide this morning ro heed Jesus’ words and follow him,
what level will your commitment be?
|
We have three choices in our level of commitment – so far as the
will of God in our lives is concerned.
1. We can decide to put His will foremost in our lives some
of the time.
2. We can decide to put His will foremost in our lives most
of the time.
3. We can decide to put His will foremost in our lives all
of the time.
|
|
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, how are you going to proclaim the
Good News and Follow Him?
|
AMEN
|
