Rev. Christine Dudley

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21

Let us pause for a moment, in prayer...

Gracious God, your presence is known to us,
in sacrament and song, in prayers of the heart,
in the face of a stranger, in stories of faith,
in the mystery and wonder of life on this earth
and in many ordinary ways each and every day.
In the harsh realities of our world
we pray for your guidance and persistence
that we may be carriers of the gentle touch of your love
and your deep and abiding peace.
With faith and thanksgiving, we pray.
Amen

Our reading from Ephesians today is one of my favourite scripture passages. When I read this passage I hear the words as personal encouragement. I hear the author praying that I may be strengthened in my inner being through the power of God's spirit and that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith as I am being rooted and grounded in love.

There's also encouragement for Christian community which I treasure, but none of that is what particularly drew me to this passage this week. What jumped out for me, were the words at the very beginning of the passage which I hadn't ever really paid much attention to before. The author begins by talking about bowing before God "from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name". The idea that we are all part of God's family is an idea that I have long embraced. We are all God's beloved, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any other artificial distinctions which human beings choose to use as labels, because in the heart of God we are all family. When I did some research on the Greek word "patria", which is translated in the New Revised Standard Version of today's text, as family, I discovered that this word is rarely used in Christian Scriptures. Normally it means tribe, clan or lineage but the word also has the meaning of extended family.

So it is in this sense of extended family that we belong to the worldwide human family — God's family. And, within this human family we enjoy a special kinship as Christian community. The apostle Paul speaks of this when he talks about Christians as being members of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). Paul says that each person's spiritual gifts are different and yet equally important and that no one is more important than another.

It is in this context that we gather to worship as a church family every Sunday. We are reminded of this bond as we share our joys and our sorrows and remember that if one part of the body is hurting then the whole body feels pain and if one member experiences joy then we also share in that joy with them.

Human beings have an innate yearning to belong. To share our lives with others, to love and be loved, to feel valued and to value others. When we celebrate baptism in the United Church of Canada, except in extreme circumstances, baptisms are always celebrated in the worshipping community. In the act of baptism we remember that we are part of the worldwide Christian family. We think of Jesus' baptism where he was blessed with God's spirit and called beloved and we remember that we, too, are God's beloved; that we belong to God. We also remember that we are connected by a faith tradition rooted in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. We believe that Christ was a sign, an incarnation, or embodiment of God's love in the world. Jesus showed a different way of being in the world. He showed by his words and actions a way of love and peace, of acceptance and inclusivity. And we, as his followers, seek to emulate his life and ministry and so we gather to remember the stories of faith from the Bible and from our own lives, we sing songs of faith and encouragement, we lament injustice and strive to work for peace and justice in our own lives and in the wider world, we welcome strangers as friends, we celebrate through the sacraments of communion and baptism, and we learn and grow together as people of faith. And, in all of this, Christ is with us as we become an incarnational community, a community of faith which embodies God's love and Christ's life and ministry.

A favourite quote of mine comes from well known United Church member and author, Donna Sinclair, who says:

I've sat in the same congregation for many years, and seen some miracles there. An angry, awkward child loved into gentleness by a patient community. A shy adult, who somehow finds the courage to step forward to say a prayer, or sing in the choir....Over and over, I have seen hearts melted, eyes opened, voices discovered. Normally, serious grownups teach Sunday school and find the spirit of a child. In the fire of candlelight, the phrase of a song, cynical people rediscover mystery and are startled by their tears.
 
These miracles occur all over this country. They are why the church survives. Jesus is with us. He is talking politics, and breaking bread, and being held, fragile, in the minister's arms to be baptized. Sometimes we recognize him - more often we don't. But he is here, alive in those moments when we have courage and tenderness in the face of fear and loss. ...
 
It just takes two or three called disciples, gathered together. And a journey and a meal shared in hospitality. All the rest is miracle. (Emmaus Road, p.173)

As beautiful, and recognizable, as these sentiments are it is also important to remember that we don't cease to be an incarnational community when we leave this place of worship. We carry our faith, hope and commitment into the world. Whether we are at work, at home, in the bank, grocery store or foodbank, social gathering, volunteer project, or in the quiet of our own prayers, we take time to show our care and concern for others.

In the United Church we advocate living our faith in the actions of our lives and I often ask myself if others would know me as a person of faith, a follower of Christ, by my actions in the community as well as in the confines of this church building. Like many of you, I wonder if I am doing enough, being enough, living faithfully enough, and so it is good to be reminded that we do not need to do everything ourselves that we each have gifts to share and that together we can make a difference in our community and in our world.

The question of how to live our faith outside of the security of this sanctuary, and this gathered community, is a key question. At a program which I attended at Naramata Centre a few years ago, Allison Rennie, had four simple suggestions to help guide the way for Christian living: (The 4 themes are Allison's but the "editorial comments" are mine...)

1) Live like you can make a difference.   Really believe that your actions do make a difference to someone somewhere. No one who has made a positive difference in the course of history has done so while living in a vacuum. People like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Archbishop Romero, and others, have all been influential because they have worked with and been supported by others.

2) Live as if the reign of God is among you.  Live, as Jesus did, seeing the reality of God's commonwealth all around you even though this reality comes merely in glimpses from time to time. God's commonwealth will only become a reality if enough people live and believe it into being. As Mahatma Ghandi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

3) Look to each other for the sign of God's presence.  God is present and active, here and now, in every act of kindness and compassion, in every peaceful response, in every non-violent act which calls for and promotes justice, in the faith and hope that we live and encourage in each other every day.

4) Celebrate!  It's important as a community of faith to gather: to give thanks to God; to remember the stories of our faith tradition and celebrate these stories as part of the seasons of our church calendar; to eat and laugh together, to uplift our spirits and encourage one another; to celebrate the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and give thanks for the rebirth of hope and love he brings to us.

And so, on this day we welcome Gabriel Emmanuel Janz into our church family and the worldwide Christian community. We remember the messenger of good news for whom he was named. And, we recognize the powerful gift of love found in the arms of anyone willing to embrace another person, without reservation, and know them as God's beloved.

This indeed is good news for us, today and always.

Amen