Much Given, Much Expected
Galatians 2:15-21
The Apostle Paul is struggling with some perplexing and deep theological issues in our reading for today. How does one make sense between, on the one hand, his historical context – that is the torah given to the Jews for centuries which has guided them in their faithful understanding – and the sacrifice of Jesus, on the other hand, which served as an example of self-less grace? At first glance, this is pretty tedious theological stuff that seems not to have anything to do with us today… but as usual, when we dig a little deeper into the meaning of the text we discover our own stories in the telling of Paul’s story.
Paul has this rich history full of tradition and wisdom. He must use these resources to help make sense of his future. He can’t just take the things from the past and expect them to be the only guide for the future, but what he discovers is that he can creatively repurpose them. The ability to repurpose our resources is one of our greatest spiritual gifts.
If you think about it, this is something that happens in lots of different ways in life. Sometimes it is taking something that was traditionally used one way and finding a new use. Sometimes it is taking something that was wasted and putting it to use. And sometimes it is simply thinking creatively about how we use the resources we have available to us. For example:
- Each year hundreds of millions of used tires are removed from automobiles and trucks around the world. One entrepreneurial company takes millions of those used tires, grinds them up and turns them into playground covers and athletic tracks.
- A potato chip company noticed they had lots of waste pieces after they processed the potatoes into chips. So they decided to take those leftover bits, turn them into dehydrated flakes, then turn the flakes into a mash, roll it out, form and cut it and voila, you’ve got Pringles.
- Second hand clothes have become vintage wear. It’s now the new chic to wear something that has been out-of-style for several decades.
- The Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle used to have to pay $60,000 a year to haul away animal waste from all the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) kept in its facilities. Now the zoo takes all that waste, composts it and sells it as completely organic fertilizer and added $20,000 worth of income to its bottom-line.
All of these examples are following a spiritual principle available to any of us. Are there toxic by-products from your life that need to be re-purposed into something useful? Are there bits and pieces from your past that could be refashioned into something new? Are there parts of you that you have always considered “second hand” – stuff you don’t always bring out into the light of day – which might become the vintage that could help someone else through their own “second hand” struggles? Is it time to turn the “manure” of your past into compost – to make it an asset rather than a liability? Are you ready to try something new with all the routines and assumptions from which you have been operating? You have the spiritual ability to do all of those things individually. And we have the spiritual ability to do all of those things as a community of faith.
Last week we received some difficult news to process. Rev. Robyn will be with us through the end of June and then she will be moving on to new adventures. Her graciousness in this whole process has been amazing. We will have a special day to honor her ministry next Sunday so I hope you will all be here for that. There are a lot of feelings and questions and unknowns that many of us have right now. It is scary to not have all the answers. What is even scarier, it seems, is to make up answers without all the information. So remember this: we are called to live by faith – that includes faith in God and faith in each other. And in times like this, we see why it is difficult to do. So I want to encourage you to be open to the idea that God could re-purpose this part of our lives. We have all this “stuff” that we aren’t sure is useful or healthy or pertinent. We have all the investment we have made in each other – our love, our time, our money, our passion. We have a common mission – to make this world a better place by living as people of grace. How can God help us redirect – re-purpose – our lives during such a time as this?
Last week when Rev. Elder Brock was meeting with the Board and Pastors she told us something profound. She sees churches go through lots of things in her work. She said whenever there is crisis in a church or whenever there is a sense that something has failed, the first thing most people want to do is assign blame to a person. We want someone to be at fault. The reality is that more often than not, the thing that fails us is our system, not a person. There are certainly mistakes in every corner. We are human. We make mistakes. At every step along our way we have tried to make the best decisions with the most information we had available to us at the time. The key we have to keep in mind is that whenever a congregation is charting a way forward there has to be a compelling vision that draws us plus the resources that sustain that vision. Without the resources, the vision will not succeed. I believe in our vision. We are here for just such a time as this.
I want you to know that I am committed to seeing this process through. We will get through this difficult time – but only if we re-capture the essence of why we are here in the first place. I believe deeply in the power of God to transform – to repurpose – the offering of our lives and make something beautiful of it. I also believe deeply in you – your ability to grow, to learn, to meet the challenge and to allow God to do something amazing with you. I know your courage to face challenges head on, even when some around you are faltering. I know your desire to create a community of faith that makes us healthier people because we are part of it. I know your persistence in holding your values and ideals closely, even when life hands you disappointment. We have been given much. To those whom much is given, much is expected.
Pray about what you can do to offer leadership in the next months – teach a class, lead a ministry, help with worship, etc. I will be depending on many of you to assist with providing opportunities for others to grow and serve. Also, pray about what would help you grow in your faith – attend a class, join a ministry, be more faithful in worship. If we are to learn how to be a church that has taken off the bib and put on the apron, then each of us needs to find ways that we can use our gifts in ministry and we can have our spirits fed. We have emphasized serving around here for a long time. Service brings its own reward. But we can only serve out of the reserves we have gathered in our lives. We must constantly replenish, refresh and re-purpose our strength, insight and faith to be resourceful to others. Neglecting one or the other impairs our spiritual development.
On the weekend of July 30th, Rev. Elder Brock will return here to All God’s Children to go through a mini Size Summit with all of us so that all of you can better understand the model of church development that several of us on the Board learned about in Kansas City several weeks ago. Mark that date on your calendars because it is very important that as many of us as possible understand this model as we move forward together. There is a lot of work ahead of us but together there is no doubt in my mind that we can meet the challenge. We have the history, the faith, the resources, the passion and the skill to make the future of All God’s Children very bright. Let’s do it together, holding each other in prayer, and giving our best effort to make this congregation a shining light of hope to all who come here. Amen.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com Creative Repurposing, June 2010.