Sermons

“Chosen in Christ”

Habakkuk 2:1-3; Ephesians 1:11-14 – Tesa Hauser

Vista La Mesa Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), La Mesa, California – January 5, 2020

Worship/Life Series #2

Holy God bless the speaking and the hearing of these words so that we can remember why we are gathered here today. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

As a millennial, there are lots of other places I could be on a Sunday morning. There’s brunch, coffee shops, the beach, and my favorite pastime, sleeping in. There are other places where I can find community, where I can find multi-generational relationships, and mentorship. They are out there, they exist. That is what many people have realized and have created. This isn’t just true for millennials, but there are many people who instead of attending church have formed these new groups where the love of something like hiking or dogs, is central to their gathering. There is nothing wrong with these groups, I too love dogs, but for many people those groups still do not replace Sunday worship.

Friends and peers, I know my age are having a difficult time finding a place to worship on Sunday. They go from one place to another, saddened by the lack of community, the inability to find other Christians to be mutually encouraged by. There aren’t many people their own age, or they try to get plugged in and are ignored because they are at a different place in their lives. It is not as though they don’t try, but how much do have to try before it’s too tiring and disheartening to keep trying? Discouraged, but they continue to attend Sunday worship. Do you know why they continue to make it a point to attend Sunday worship, wherever that may be?  Because they love Jesus! Jesus matters to their lives, and why does Jesus matter? Because as Ephesians says, we have been chosen by God in Christ, and our lives will never be the same! And the appropriate response is to worship God, to gather together and remind one another of what God has done in Jesus Christ so that we can then share this good news with others.

A running joke in Christianity is by responding to any answer with Jesus. Ask any question and Jesus is the answer. But in Ephesians we see that Jesus is the answer for everything. In the verses I read 11-14, verse 11 and verse 13 begin with the phrase “in Christ” in the Greek. This happens six times from verses 3-14. In Christ Jesus we have been redeemed, in Christ we find salvation, in Christ we become adopted children of God, and in Christ we find hope. Even before the beginning of time, in Christ all things “are,” as John 1 tells us. Jesus was, is, and will be. The now and not yet is fulfilled in Christ. So, I got to ask, is Jesus the answer for why you are in church today, for why you participate in Sunday worship? I mean that genuinely, how do you approach Sunday worship and why do you choose to be here? There are many good reasons to be here, is Jesus one of them or the one?

I had a “home” church during my Junior and Senior of my undergrad where I interned and volunteered with the children, however, I did not have a community there. These people were not at all like family, they did not care about my life or about who I was. I was just an intern who would soon be gone. I look back at that time with pain, I did not enjoy attending services there, or the people very much. The pastor I interned for was great, and is a person I admire deeply, but I did not go to Sunday worship because I was an intern or because of the pastor I interned for. The answer for my internship, for my work with the children, and the reason why I attended Sunday worship is because I love Jesus and was reminded about the goodness of God in Jesus every Sunday. Attending worship reminded me that Jesus has transformed my life; that through Jesus I know God. I was reminded of how Jesus’s birth and resurrection have changed the cosmos and I wanted to be there on Sunday to celebrate that with the people of God.

The song the choir sang earlier “Every morning is Easter morning,” is a great reminder of why every day, and especially Sunday, matters to our lives as Christians. Author and theologian Robert E. Webber wrote, “every Sunday is a little Easter.” If every day, and Sunday are “little Easters” that means that every Sunday is a joyous day to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and means we leave each Sunday wanting to spread the good news that God is in charge! Fear is gone, we say goodbye to guilt, and death has been defeated. On Easter Sunday we have many people here because it is an exciting place to be! It is a place where we celebrate what God has done in Christ. On Easter Sunday it is a reminder that history has been transformed and that the decision to follow Christ will transform our own lives and the world.

As I mentioned, this is exciting stuff! Recognizing every Sunday as a “little Easter” means we want to be here to celebrate and that we want others join in this celebration of the resurrection. It means continuing in our goal of cultivating vitality and growth. If we want to be here celebrating, then others will want to join us, but they need to be invited. How do you invite people? The answer is Jesus. We share with people about how Jesus teaches us and shows us how good and loving and just God. We do this with our words, but especially with our actions. We let people know that Jesus who doesn’t expect us to leave our head at the door, but come in and question, and wonder, and even doubt. Thomas has a bad reputation for doubting Jesus, but his lack of belief or doubting did not change his status as a follower of Christ. It is Jesus who has formed this new community where we can reach out to one another when we need prayer and encouragement. This community will create and hold a banner to remind us of God. It is God, through Jesus, that has brought us together this day.

Although the letter from which I read today says to the Ephesians, scholars believe that Ephesians was a later addition. There was no named recipient in original manuscripts, and scholars suggest that the reason for a blank spot was so it could be circulated, and any community or church could be plugged in. One of the main themes of the letter is reminding people of what God has done in Christ, and everyone needs to be reminded from time to time, we can be forgetful humans. Life can get busy and overwhelming and we forget about Jesus. We forget what it means to love our neighbor after being cut-off on the freeway; or how to be patient or kind when it feels like everyone else has an attitude problem. We can forget that we aren’t alone in Christ when life is difficult and when we’re afraid, or when it seems like there is no end in sight. We can forget that in Christ we have been chosen out of God’s love for us, and that in Christ we are all God’s children. We can forget that all people are deserving of Christ’s love and abundance. That all people deserve to hope and dream of a better life; to receive health care; or to have a place where they can feel safe and call home. We can forget, but then we show up on Sunday and are reminded of loving our neighbor as we love God. We are reminded of the everlasting and abundant love of Christ; we are reminded of God promising to never leave us nor forsake us. We are reminded that we have been chosen in Christ, that we have been called to do God’s work and that if we forget that we should remind one another. We are reminded that we meet regularly to look to God for guidance together, carefully and continually. Sunday worship is a great and important place to be.

Imagine if we only met once or twice a month. How hard would it be to remember if we did not meet so often? I don’t know about you all, but from the person for whom it took many weeks to remembers everybody’s name, if we did not meet regularly, I would forget. Another way to think about attending Sunday worship is like a relationship. If you don’t nurture a relationship, by putting in the time and effort, or by making it a priority, it will most likely end. Don’t get me wrong, like any other relationship, it is tough one where effort and work are required. But like any relationship, there are great days when you can’t wait to get to Sunday worship, life may be going great, or you know that you will be reminded of God’s goodness which you need. Other times you feel like you have to be dragged out of bed kicking and screaming to get here, and every moment here is like pulling teeth. Isn’t that true of relationships, sometimes it is so easy to love someone and other times you can’t stand to look at them. Even in those moment you got to show up, even when you’re not feeling it.

Show up, so that when that person you invited walks through the door you can greet them; or so God can use you to encourage and love someone who needs it. Show up because God showed up, in Christ, God literally showed up in human flesh and chose each and everyone one of us out of God’s love for us. Sunday worship is an important and exciting place to be. Alleluia and Amen.