INTRODUCTION: The Scripture Readings today focus on behavior. Specifically, they direct us how God expects-- and empowers-- us to behave as followers of Christ. May we take these words to heart and embody them in our actions.
Galatians 5:22-23 “...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control…”
Matthew 25:34-40
34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Sermon: “Noticing God in Christian Community”
“Noticing God in Christian Community” -- this is the title of today’s sermon and the focus of Chapter 4 of Richard Peace’s book. On page 77, Peace says this, “…despite the struggles, community is the laboratory in which we learn to love and be loved.” (p. 77) [REPEAT]
And, by “community,” he is talking specifically about Christian community, which we find in the church, the Body of Christ. Peace refers to a few Scriptures in this chapter, two of which we have used as our readings for this morning’s service. The first is the short reading from Galatians, where the Apostle Paul gives one of his famous lists, this list being “the fruit of the Spirit.” (I’m sure you’ve run across this list before; I’ve even run across it printed on a pillow at the Christmas Tree shop. Maybe you memorized it in Sunday School as a child: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” [If you didn’t memorize it as a child in Sunday school--it’s not too late--memorizing this verse could be something you/I decide to do as part of our Lenten devotions.] Commentators agree that this is not meant to be an exhaustive list—we can name other fruits, such as humility and hope—but rather this list is meant to suggest the “inner attitudes (graces and virtues)” that God’s Spirit brings out of us. (Quote from Noticing God, p. 78; Concept also found in New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. XI, p. 328.)
But here’s the interesting thing about this list and way God works: we simply cannot develop these inner attitudes, graces, virtues in ourselves if we sit alone in a room—even if we sit alone in a room and pray continually. Two things are required of us in order for these fruits to be fully developed: 1) We must open our hearts to God. AND 2) we must consciously, prayerfully interact with one another.
For instance, I can pray for patience until I am blue in the face, but until I interact with other people with whom I can practice patience, the virtue will never bloom or—to use the Apostle Paul’s image—never develop into a fully ripe piece of fruit. And that’s where the church comes in. In fact, in our small group discussions on “Purpose” that took place a few weeks ago as part of the Vision Process, every group named this dynamic: We come together as a group of people to be fed and nurtured in faith--to learn and grow in Christ—and we help each other do that. At our best—in worship, conversation, study groups, and committee meetings-- we bring out in each other “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Now, let me stop here for a moment and acknowledge that, as human beings--whether we are part of a Christian community or not--we are not always at our best. The fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians are not “automatic” gifts from God, bestowed upon us when we walk through the doors of a church building or log into a Facebook worship service and interact with other followers of Christ. Even when God grants us an amazing shift in attitude and perspective, that shift comes because we have made the choice to pray about it, to open ourselves to it. That shift comes because we have recognized that we cannot bear such fruit solely on our own; we need to ask God and each other for help. And, sometimes, we need to ask God and each other for forgiveness when the fruit we’ve tried to bear on our own doesn’t quite resemble the fruit God has in mind for us.
Which reminds me of the vegetable garden that I planted when my husband Paul and I first moved to our house in Beverly 21 years ago. Let me give you a little background. On my father’s side, I come from a long line of farmers. My dad was originally from Kansas, and when he moved to Revere, Massachusetts, he turned our backyard into a veritable mini-farm. He grew everything, including the most delicious ears of corn you could ever imagine. So, when Paul and I bought our first--and only--house, I tried to re-create the garden of my childhood. I even planted corn. But, unlike the corn my father planted, my harvest was abysmal. I had 4 corn plants--two that lived--and although there actually were a few ears of corn on those 2 corn plants, when I picked those ears and husked them, the ears of corn could only be described--at their best--as mutant. Some of the kernels were big, some small. And the ears themselves were misshapen. They didn’t taste too bad, but the whole experiment was something of an embarrassment. I later called my uncle in Kansas who still had a small farm to ask him what went wrong. Two things. Apparently corn plants need full sun. Who knew? AND--and this is the part that really ties in with our scripture: 2 corn plants just wouldn’t cut it. Corn plants need to be part of a group of other corn plants in order to grow and thrive and bear good fruit. ( I wish I’d called my uncle before i planted that garden. Live and learn...)
My point? We are like corn plants. We need to be in a group--we need Christian community in order to grow and thrive and bear good fruit. But, practically speaking, how do we do this? How do we help each other grow and thrive and bear good fruit? One way is by paying attention to how we talk with one another when we get together for fellowship, study groups, committee meetings. At our church annual meeting on February 7th we voted on a “covenant for Christian communication,” which spells out how we will choose to communicate with each other, even when we don’t see eye to eye. From my perspective, the most powerful line in that covenant is “We will communicate with each other as if we were standing face-to-face with Jesus, asking what God would have us do, and seeking to hear God’s voice in the other person.” Wow! How much good fruit might God produce in us as a church if we—each and all—consciously, regularly sought to do this, by the Grace of God? This practice will help us bear good fruit, help us to serve the world in love.
That’s where our second scripture reading comes in. This Scripture is from Matthew 25--from Jesus’ last discourse to his disciples (and the crowd) before the events that lead up to his arrest and crucifixion. In this passage, Jesus tells the crowd that when they meet the needs of each other and the world—when they offer food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, hospitality to the stranger, clothing to the naked, care to the sick and imprisoned—they are, in effect, serving and caring for Christ himself. Our closing hymn puts it this way, “Sister, let me be your servant; brother, let me walk with you. Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.”
Which makes me wonder: How would we be different—how would our world be different-- if we each consciously chose to look at each other and ALL of the people around us as if they were Christ? AND if we consciously chose to behave toward people the way Christ calls us to—seeking to serve and meet their needs?
We here at Franklin Federated Church are in the middle of a Vision Process. Your Transition Team met this past Tuesday to compare notes on the small group discussions that we had about what our Purpose is as a church. Although some different words were used, it was actually amazing how many of the same words appeared in each group’s draft purpose statement. In fact, it became clear that each group described the same process: we come together as a welcoming faith community to be nurtured by God and to grow and learn as followers of Christ, so that we can share God’s Love with the world and meet the needs of our neighbors. Drawing on this concept and the words that were mentioned in the various groups, the Transition Team is in the process of articulating a unified draft purpose statement that they will send out to the congregation in a week or so. Please be on the lookout for it. They/we would love your feedback!
In the meantime, let us take today’s Scriptures to heart. Let us strive to see Christ in each other, to bring out the best in each other in Christian community, that God may empower us to bear fruit that makes a positive difference in the world.
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church
Franklin, MA
PRAY
Gracious God—
- To love someone else’s life
As much as our own,
- To reach out in support
Of another person’s weakness
When we ourselves are falling;
- To give another person hope
When we are close to despair;
- And to offer forgiveness
When we feel unforgiven;
- This is what you ask of us, Lord,
And it is hard:
Hard to give
When we are struggling;
Hard to help
When we need help
Hard to encourage
When we are discouraged.
Yet, you help us along the way.
- You give us glimpses of your healing love--you
Help us to see Christ in each other.
- You remind us
that even when our world is shaking,
We are not alone; we are part of your community.
you hold us all in your hands.
So, guide us, now, O God, that we may continue to care for one another, growing together, bearing fruit, and making a difference in our world, for Jesus sake. Amen.
[prayer based in part on a prayer found in New Prayers for Worship]