Sermons

“Why Do You Matter?”

Psalm 139:1-18; Ephesians 4:1-6, 11-16 – Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn

Vista La Mesa Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), La Mesa, California – June 24, 2018

“Faith Matters” Sermon Series #5

Holy God, bless the speaking and the hearing of these words that we open ourselves to your Holy Spirit and receive the blessing and invitation of your Christ. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

So here we are, at the end of a six-week sermon series that began on Pentecost. Liturgical sticklers will insist that the fiery red paraments we use for Pentecost are only supposed to be up that one Sunday before everything turns back to Ordinary Time green. But around here, we’ve been holding onto that Holy Spirit moment a few weeks longer for years now, because these fancy red things are so lovely, but more importantly, because of what happens on this last Sunday of June. What more appropriate occasion to surround ourselves with the Holy Spirit’s red than the day we ask God’s blessing on all our servant leaders as we begin another year of ministry?

Now, many years, Pentecost isn’t as early as it was this year, so the red stuff isn’t up quite as long. But it’s worked out well for this sermon series. We’ve been talking about “Faith Matters,” that is, the stuff of faith. We started with the Holy Spirit, of course, and then God and Jesus, and the church and evangelism, and now – you!   These are the foundational matters of faith, or at least, some of them. But we’ve also been talking about why these things matter. A faith that has no relevance to or impact on our lives isn’t a faith anyone going to be very interested in practicing. We have talked about what we believe and what the necessary consequences of those beliefs are. Faith matters. It has to make a difference, or it isn’t a faith worth keeping.

Most of you know that I don’t preach sermon series very often. Honestly, when I do, by the time I get to the end, I’m usually really tired of the theme. I prefer to be a little more free-form with my preaching. But in this case, I’m still on board, and as it turns out, though this is the last sermon in the series, it’s not really the end. Because this whole series isn’t about these six weeks; it’s about what comes after. We are at the beginning of a long hike. Now, I’m not much of a hiker, so I may be wandering into tricky metaphorical territory here. But there are a few things I’m pretty sure are true about hiking. First of all, most hikes involve ups and downs, right? People don’t tend to hike where there aren’t hills. Or perhaps, when you’re hiking, even things that wouldn’t seem like hills in a car reveal themselves as hills. This is going to be true for us, as we travel together through the next few years. There will be ups and downs. There will be intense moments of exertion, and there will be times to rest.

Secondly, my understanding is that when people go out to hike, they aren’t doing it because they’re trying to get some place. A hike isn’t about the destination; it’s about the journey. That’s not say we don’t have goals, because we do. In many ways, what we’re launching here is a three-year viability project, and there are definitely some concrete goals. We are hoping to add 8-12 new households to our church family over the next few years. But because a church is more like an organism than an organization, our real goal is more organic than chartable. It’s not simply that we want to add families. It’s that we’re working toward becoming a church that is intentional about our growth in ministry and members. It’s a mindset shift, not an accomplishment to achieve. This may sound disappointing, but this isn’t something we’re ever going to “finish”. But if we think about it with that hiking metaphor, maybe it will help. My guess is that many hikers, during the final portion of a given hike, are already thinking about the next one. It’s not about what they did; it’s about who they are.

This is why we’ve begun this journey talking about the matters of faith that shape our identity as disciples of Christ. Because this is about who we are and who God is leading us to become. And that leads us to our final question: “Why do you matter?” As with many of these questions, I’ve got more than one answer for you today. The first one is the simplest. Why do you matter? Because God said so. You matter to God. We see this in scripture; we see it in the theological testimony of the incarnation; we see it in the life of Jesus. The writer of Psalm 139 tells it. God has known you since always and is never, ever going to abandon you, even if, for some brief moment, you insist that’s what you want. This isn’t about what you can do or what you have or even who you are; it’s just about the fact that you are. You inherently matter to God, simply by virtue of your existence. You are God’s beloved child, created in God’s image and held in God’s loving arms.

I could stop there. This truth ought to be enough to sustain us. But we’re humans, so we want more. Or maybe it’s just that we’ve got all this time to fill. We face decisions every day about what to do with our minutes and hours. So there’s more. Why do you matter? Because your contributions make a difference. What you bring to the body of Christ is indispensable. We need you. We need each other. “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,” some dish-washers, some egg-cookers or sandwich-makers, some clothes-sorters or towel-launderers, some deacons, some elders, some committee chairs or finance people, some desk-fixers or plumbers or gardeners or furniture movers, “for the building up of the body of Christ.” All of us called to serve. All of us called to grow up in every way into the full stature of Christ. All of us called to promote the body’s building itself up in love.

There are some in this room who are renewing long-held commitments today, having agreed to continue serving in ways they’ve been dedicated to for years. There are others here who are taking on new responsibilities, things they’ve never done before with tasks that may not even be clear yet. But all of us can grow in what we’re being called to do. There’s a hymn we often sing at communion, even though our hymnal classifies it as an offering hymn. The third verse says “Take whatever I can offer, gifts that I have yet to find; skills that I am slow to sharpen, talents of the hand and mind.” Can you imagine that you have gifts you haven’t even recognized yet? That maybe you’re not finished? Have you ever thought about that thing you’re sure you’re terrible at as maybe just a skill you’re slow to sharpen? It could be that you have a gift that this church doesn’t even know it needs yet. Who knows what God can do with you?

How many of you grew up being taught in school that our appendix was some sort of vestigial organ that we don’t really need? It sounded plausible, right? We all know people who’ve had their appendix taken out and they do just fine without it. One of the miracles of my lifetime is that scientists have finally figured out what the appendix is for. The reason it seemed like we didn’t need it is that it’s really just there for a very particular, extreme emergency. If you were to contract a serious but rare disease that wiped out all your gut flora, your appendix is where the body would go to find the archives required to reproduce those vital microorganisms again. I find this such an interesting story, when we think about it in the context of Paul’s writings on the various members of the body of Christ and their purposes. Maybe you don’t think your presence here makes a difference. Maybe you don’t feel like anyone else values your contributions. Maybe you think you’re just another body taking up space. It isn’t true. You, specifically, especially you, matter. You, in exactly who you are, make a difference in the life of this congregation. And even better, God has more mattering in store for you! As we begin this journey to become a church that takes growth seriously and engages in it intentionally, the gifts you have to offer are going to be of utmost importance, even and maybe especially if you have yet to find them.

I’m not sure we always fully appreciate the significance of the act of installation we’re about to share in. People in this faith community – quite a lot of you, in fact – are going to commit to giving their time and attention and talents and resources to carrying out the ministry of Jesus Christ within the life of this congregation. They don’t have to do that. They don’t get special privileges for doing so. What’s more, we try to impress upon all those being installed that the actions of leadership are just one part of the job, because attending to their own spiritual growth is the more important portion It’s a tall order. And yet, somehow, I sense that many of you have found it rewarding. Somehow, you’ve determined that it’s worth your time. Because there’s something amazing that happens when we partner up with God.

This church doesn’t thrive because we all work really hard. It thrives when we work together, with one another and with God. Let us remember, as we share in these words of commitment, that it’s God who leads us and empowers us. It’s God whose love we share through these ministries. We matter oh so much to God; let us ensure we live and work in ways that show the world that God matters to us! Alleluia and Amen!