John 17:1, 2, 6, 17-23 - read this text online here »
I have some observations about the story of Jesus and his disciples in today’s Scripture in the Gospel of Luke.
The first is that Jesus believes there are many many people waiting to hear about God’s kingdom of love and justice. He calls these people his “harvest.” It is like a huge field of people – a huge sports stadium with every seat filled with people waiting -- waiting to be told and shown how much they are loved by the One who created them. However, the harvest isn’t a mere Western Canadian wheat field or North American football stadium or South African soccer stadium full of people. The harvest Jesus talked about includes the entire world of humanity.
The Book of Acts tells the story of the birth of the church and the Holy Spirit’s vision for the worldwide expansion of God’s mission. And the same holds true for the church today. In the very first chapter of Acts, Jesus told his disciples they would be witnesses to his resurrection and to his risen life in them beginning right in Jerusalem where they staying and would continue to live, then all around the region of Judea, then farther away throughout the region of Samaria and eventually their witness to Jesus would spread throughout the whole world.
I did not grow up in the United Church but was adopted by it. And I also adopted the United Church as the church where I wanted to serve with the gifts God had given me. Here is some of what I learned about and saw in the United Church that drew me within its circle. I saw a church of people who literally lived out their witness across Canada. They put the Holy Spirit’s Acts 1:8 vision into practice by telling people – witnessing -- about the risen Jesus, about loving God and about actively loving their family members and their neighbours next-door and down the street and in their community and even throughout the entire country. Back then in the 1960s and ’70s, you could still find United Church people in just about every nook and cranny in Canada geographically.
I was also impressed by the spread of God’s people of the United Church within the culture of Canada. You could find people who called the United Church their spiritual home involved in politics, in medicine, in the arts, in education (Edgerton Ryerson, for example), in agriculture, in financial sectors, in the media, in magazine publications, in social and justice activities – again, virtually everywhere.
As I studied this church denomination, I discovered some remarkable witnesses to God’s care for people (no matter who they were). United Church people could be found helping those who were poverty stricken in the Dirty Thirties. During the Second World War (just before my time!), many United Church halls became dance halls and canteens for a generation of young men and women off to fight a war on another continent. After that war, United Church people were there for those who were homeless, especially men, many of whom were veterans battling their own inner wars. The United Church in British Columbia along with other denominations also protested the displacement of Japanese families. The church tried to help Japanese men and women find employment and also helped to educate their children. The United Church even took to the water and launched boats such as The Thomas Crosby to go up and down the coast of British Columbia assisting isolated communities with medical and other supplies not otherwise readily available. I learned about the church’s sense of justice when Nellie McLung – a church activist -- worked with other women to win the case in 1929 that women are persons. Remarkable! I discovered how the United Church was the first Canadian denomination to ordain women to ministry in Canada. Lydia Gruchy was ordained in 1936 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. It would be decades before other denominations would follow.
And so I wanted to be part of a church that had a vision and mission that was universal in its scope, whose people were enthusiastic about spreading the good news of God’s love and justice and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not only through the actions of its people but also in what they said. They spoke freely about Jesus who motivated them and about God who loved them and about the Holy Spirit who lived in them.
My second observation about the story of Jesus sending out his disciples in Luke’s Gospel is that Jesus said there were relatively few harvest hands or witnesses of God’s good news for this huge group of people. So Jesus gave his disciples two commands. First, pray to the God of harvest – who loves this world full of people – to send many many harvest hands, that is, many many witnesses or story-tellers, into their own part of the world and throughout the whole world. And, second, Jesus told his disciples to go themselves as God’s harvest hands and witnesses wherever he sent them. In other words, they were to be part of the answer to their own prayers!
Three years ago this month, we started the Oriole-York Mills Prayer Supporters. This small prayer group prays specifically for the concerns of the members and adherents of our congregation and for other family, friends and acquaintances you tell us you are concerned about. Many of you have told us how significant this prayer support has been for you. The members of the group pray for those who are grieving over the loss of loved ones, for those with serious illnesses and concerns, for those who are homebound and wish they could be physically present with us this morning and for those with all sorts of other concerns.
But I do not believe the group has ever been asked to pray what Jesus commanded his disciples to pray for in today’s story in Luke’s Gospel: to pray that the God of the harvest – God the Creator – would send out into the community “harvest hands” or witnesses to God’s love and justice in their lives, witnesses to the resurrected Jesus and witnesses to the life of the risen Jesus in their lives. We talk about wanting people to come to us and we work toward that end. But Jesus also said to pray for witnesses -- for people who would go outside these four walls not only to act in compassionate ways and with love but also to speak graciously about their personal stories of God’s life and love in them and active in their lives. So I have asked OYM’s Prayer Supporters to pray that God will send out more of our people to share with others through their loving concern and actions certainly but also with their words about how people might connect with Jesus Christ. This is what we say we want to do in our bulletin and on our website in our logo. And this prayer will also be part of my personal daily prayer conversation with God as well. If you are unable physically to be active, you can pray! Prayer is an important ministry you can have in and for our church. You can pray that God will send witnesses to talk about their faith in Jesus as well as acting out their faith in the community and wherever they find themselves.
Jesus commanded his followers – us -- to pray that God would send out those who will be witnesses to the life of the risen Jesus. He also commanded us to go and be part of that witnessing group ourselves!
The task force for OYM Growth has been meeting regularly. Someone suggested we create a script – let’s call it “OYM 101” – to help us talk about our church’s vision and mission and even about our personal faith with our family and friends. For instance, in the vision of our church, we say we are “inspired by Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.” Being inspired is wonderful, isn’t it? My hunch, though, is that in the sanctuary this morning there are a variety of interpretations about what being “inspired by Jesus” means. If we were to discuss this together, some meanings might be similar; others might be quite different. And in our church’s mission, for instance, we talk about “bringing to life the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Again, there will be different meanings on the table for discussion.
Frankly, variety is good. God loves variety. Not one of us is the same. And God acts in people’s lives in different ways – in ways that are personal for each person. But I do wonder, if we took the time together to share our meanings and understandings, we might well discover a common language grounded in Scripture to help us share our faith with family and friends. I think we could learn from each other by listening to each other and how we each speak about our faith. And we might discover some wording or thinking we could use personally. In the coming year, I would be very interested in helping us discover new ways to talk about and share our faith in God. So in the fall season, I am suggesting we have several Lunch & Learn gatherings where we take the opportunity to talk together about the meanings of our faith. We would begin with our vision and mission statements and how we might share that faith with one another first and then with others in our families and among our friends. This summer I would ask you to ponder and pray about this series. Then let me know what you are discerning.
When Jesus sent out his disciples in the story in Luke’s Gospel, he sent them with his authority and gave them his power to support them in their mission. He knew they could not talk about their faith or heal those who were sick as he commanded without his power in them. If we had read the beginning of Luke 9, we would have seen how Jesus clearly gave the disciples his power and authority. So when we are commissioned by Jesus to witness by action and by our words, we go in the power of the Holy Spirit and under the authority of Jesus Christ. Our Creed says as much when it begins: “We are not alone.”
When Jesus sent out his disciples, he also told them to “travel light” as The Message Bible puts it. No extra luggage. No extra shoes. No cooler full of food. Essentially, Jesus was telling his disciples (and by the same token telling us) to trust God – to depend on God and not on our own devices for courage and strength and wisdom. To be “sent” by Jesus and to “go” is to trust and act on the assumption that what we require to achieve his desired purposes he will give us. Again, our Creed states clearly: “We trust in God.”
Our denomination used to talk about what is called “The Great Commission” found at the end of the Gospel of Matthew -- Chapter 28:18-20. From The Message Bible, here is the charge Jesus gave to his disciples:
“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”Today we are celebrating 85 years of ministry and loving service through The United Church of Canada. We all wonder what the next five to 10 years will be like, let alone 15 to 20 years or another 85 years for our denomination. There is no question the United Church is changing as the Canadian landscape of different peoples and cultures changes as well. To be sure, individual congregations throughout the country will come and go as they always have. But I believe, if The United Church of Canada remains faithful to God’s Word and witnesses to the resurrected Jesus, it will continue to play a part in God’s kingdom for many more years. May the focus of The United Church of Canada in general and Oriole-York Mills in particular remain centred on life-transforming encounters with God through Jesus Christ and may the church continue to instruct people in the way and teachings of Jesus. Jesus Christ connects us and all of humanity with the One who is our Creator, the One who inspires us and the One who brings us to life.
May we be open to all God has for us. May this be so for you and for me. Amen.
Rev. Chris Miller
June 6, 2010 • 85th Anniversary of The United Church of Canada
OYM • Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto [ website » ]
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