Sermon for 17 Pentecost

Sermon for 17 Pentecost, Proper 19-A

September 11, 2005

St. Luke’s Church, Jamestown, NY

Eric M. Williams

Discipleship

Today is a day of conflicting and powerful emotions.

I don’t know about you, but I am simply overwhelmed

by the images and stories that continue to bombard us

in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Newspapers, magazines, TV and the internet—

the devastation is inescapable

and so is the blame game.

And this after a year and a half of the war in Iraq.

The daily death toll, the continuing insurgency,

and still no end in sight.

Today our attention shifts for a moment

as we remember with somber, still bruised hearts

the tragic day four years ago when we watched with shock and horror

the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Each of these events is different, yet together they have had a huge effect.

I personally have not lost a loved one to these events,

nor have I suffered more than sticker shock at the gas pump.

Yet I, like all Americans, have felt these events

like an emotional punch in the stomach.

I wonder how many of these cataclysms we can take.

And yet, for all of the tragedy, there have been shining moments as well.

Among all the negative press and second-guessing,

it is important to remember the heroes.

For it is true that tragedies and war bring out not only the worst

but also the best in people.

There have been moving stories of compassion and bravery.

For me the true picture of a hero will always remain

the firefighters who rushed in to the burning World Trade Center,

facing certain death in the hopes of saving others.

And Katrina has produced her share of heroes as well, of all types.

Bob Ford is a caterer in Jackson, Mississippi.

Katrina sent a tree through his roof, but spared him and his wife.

The next day, moved by the plight of others

he was cooking for 1,200 evacuees at the Mississippi Coliseum.

"I didn't know who he was," said Sam Hill II, a food-service veteran who volunteered to help start the breakfast service. "But he had a glow." Mr. Ford has lined up jobs and car repairs, and entertainment for the hundreds of children in the shelter. Last Saturday, he and his troops organized a free wedding ceremony and reception for a young couple who were supposed to exchange vows in New Orleans on the day the hurricane hit. The bride, the groom and 18 of their relatives took up temporary residence this week in the Ford home, 18 miles east of here in Brandon. The tree was still stuck in the roof. "The power was out and there was a pine tree on our house," Mrs. Ford said. "But we just had to focus on what God wanted us to do."[1]

“But we just had to focus on what God wanted us to do.”

In the face of events like Katrina, we wonder what we can do.

We can pray and send money, of course.

Today we will do both as we join Episcopalians throughout our diocese

in taking a special collection for Episcopal Relief and Development.

That’s really important.

And while it is far too soon and the situation is too unstable,

preliminary conversations are taking place about

sending a mission team some months from now

to help with the rebuilding effort.

But I want to offer one more thing that we can do.

Something that is not immediately apparent

and which has nothing directly to do with this or any disaster.

We can focus on becoming disciples,

so that we too can focus on what God would have us do.

Bob and Jocelyn Ford were able to respond heroically as they did

because they were already trained disciples of Jesus Christ.

Their life in faith prepared them for this very moment.

When God called, they responded.

Today is our start-up Sunday,

the day we not only remember Katrina and 9/11

but also the day we come back together after a hectic summer

to refocus on our community of faith and our journey of faith.

Today I urge you to recommit yourself to the life of discipleship.

And as a help I have prepared a guide, a statement,

which you will find in your bulletin today and your VOICE this week.

[Download a copy here.]

This guide offers a way of understanding the life of discipleship

and the specific ways that you can grow in your discipleship

through being a part of St. Luke’s.

When we were baptized we became members of Christ’s Body the Church.

But membership by itself requires almost nothing of us.

Just showing up once in a while keeps your membership up to date.

But discipleship is another matter.

Discipleship means deciding, choosing to make God the center of your life,

deciding, choosing to follow Jesus, to take up your cross.

Discipleship is living active growing membership.

In essence discipleship means doing two things:

Growing your faith and Living your faith.

When I was ordained, I was told a simple rule of thumb.

In every congregation 20% of the people do 80% of the ministry.

I later learned two more things.

That formula applies to all organizations and it is optimistic!

Instead of a 20/80 congregation,

let’s make St. Luke’s an 80/20 congregation,

a place where 80% of the members are active growing disciples,

a place where 80% of us focus on what God would have us do.

And I’ve got good news.

Through our plan, “Answering God’s Call,”

we are getting a lot better at understanding what discipleship looks like.

And we are offering more and more ways

both to grow your faith and to live your faith.

In essence, I believe that it takes a simple commitment.

Find and commit to one ministry that is about growing your faith

and one ministry that is about living your faith.

That, at a minimum, is all it takes.

Barbara Bumsted has put together a brochure which details

all of our adult classes and programs for the Fall.

Whatever your work schedule or family situation,

you can find something to fit your life.

And as for living your faith, the possibilities are endless.

We already have dozens of opportunities within the church

and there are an infinite variety in the family, workplace and community.

If you don’t know what ministries are a good fit for you,

We are all of us too busy, too stressed, too overcommitted.

But the vast majority of our busy-ness has nothing to do with discipleship.

And discipleship, my friends is what God put us on this earth for.

If you are too busy to go to church, you are too busy.

If you are too busy to read the Bible, you are too busy.

If you are too busy to serve Christ, you are too busy.

Remember Bob Ford, the caterer, feeding hundreds of people every day.

“He had a glow,” one man said.

Discipleship means starting to glow,

to let the light of Christ shine within you

by growing your faith and living your faith

whether you are in Jackson, Miss. or Jamestown, NY.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/national/nationalspecial/10fordprofile.html