By
Rev.
Dr. Harvey C. Martz
Scripture:
I Corinthians 15:1-8
15
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news
that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which
also you stand, 2 through which also you are being
saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to
you-unless you have come to believe in vain. 3 For I
handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had
received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the
scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at
one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
We
have forty or so young people who will be doing something very risky
this morning. They are making a public affirmation that they are
followers and disciples of Jesus of Nazareth and that they want to
order and pattern their lives and behavior after the example of
Christ.
This
is a formational and risky thing because Christianity is the only
one of the major religions of the world in which its two key leaders
-- Jesus and the apostle Paul - were both executed by the
established authorities because they were seen to be subverting and
challenging the way things had always been. They were seen to be
dangerous to the order of things - dangerous and threatening to a
system of raw power and greed and privilege.
Paul
was probably beheaded in Rome where he was taken as a prisoner in
the mid 60's. He started out of course as an enemy of this young
Jesus movement and then, as he tells us in the verses we heard, he
met the risen Christ. He encountered Jesus - not the earthly prophet
and teacher that the twelve disciples knew for three years - but the
risen, ever present Christ.
And
out of that call from Christ, his life took a new path and he
dedicated himself to pointing other people to Christ and to the way
of Christ.
Our
confirmands are starting on a new path this morning. Paul did that
because he had met Christ. Can it also be that they are doing this
because they have had a chance to meet Christ also? Let's think
about this. Jesus says that wherever two or three of his people are
gathered together, that he is there with us. And Paul tells us that
we, the fellowship of followers are indeed the body of Christ in the
world today. Have these youth had a chance to meet Christ as well,
to be addressed by him as well? Have they seen Christ in the gentle
spirit and in the teaching leadership of Mike Ratliff? Have they
seen Christ in the attention and in the interest of their prayer
partners and their family group leaders and in the other adults who
have been nurturing and guiding them in their journey of
exploration?
I
believe that these persons have had a chance to meet Christ also and
may be able to respond to his call, his invitation to follow him
because of the people in this congregation who are doing what we say
we want to do each Sunday morning - let Christ's light shine through
us so that others who see us may come to love and praise God.
So
Paul's story is similar to ours. There are other similarities. Paul
says that the good news that he has proclaimed to us is still at
work in us and that we are "being saved", we are still in
this process if we do something important that Paul tells us about:
if we hold firmly to this message and stay connected to the
community of Christ.
Don't
drop out Paul is saying. Stay connected and involved. Paul spent his
energy not only telling people about God's love for us in Christ and
about a new kind of life in imitating Christ, he also developed
groups of people - congregations - that met together regularly for
prayer and study and character formation and service to others.
Those were churches that had no buildings but would meet in people's
homes to worship and sing and celebrate communion. There is no such
thing in the New Testament as a solitary Christian and we have been
talking about that with each other for all the time this
confirmation group has been meeting. We need to be with each other
because this journey that is beginning today is a challenging one.
There are opportunities each day and each week to take backward
steps. There will be temptations to spread gossip about someone that
we know is harmful and wrong but you will be tempted to do it
because everyone else is doing it.
There
will be temptations to do less than your best when you know that God
is asking and nudging you to give your best in school and in your
family life. There will be temptations to ignore a fellow student or
isolate them because they are different or unpopular and because
everyone else is ignoring them or talking badly about them. To do
those things will be unfaithful to the promises you are making to
follow Christ and treat other people the way he treats people.
We
will need to be with other disciples of Jesus to keep us on the
right path and to guide us back to that path when we falter, and
that's what you are promising - we are promising - when we promise
to be present as the community of faith gathers each week.
There
are other ways we are like this amazing fellow named Paul. In the
reading I am doing about him for this sermon series, scholars are
saying that what happened to him on the way to Damascus was not a
conversion experience, it was a call from Christ, a commissioning.
He was being addressed and sent to be a witness to the non-Jews
about participating in new life in Christ - our life in Jesus Christ
goes on we say to each other each Sunday. We will unpack that in the
next few weeks. Paul's story was a call story, and what is happening
to our new members today is also a call story. Christ is welcoming
you to his family and he is also calling you to be his missionaries
as well, to point other people to him in the places you are each
week.
We
don't have to encourage our youth very much to do this sort of
inviting of others to come and take a look at Christ, to invite
others to church with them. Our youth are some of the best inviters
that we have. They are enthusiastic about what they experience in
this congregation and are always inviting friends to come and give
it a try. Paul pointed other people to abundant life in Christ and
he encourages us to do that and to know that people will look to us
for what it means to imitate Christ. You and I are the only Bible
many people will read. Others look to us for examples of integrity
and honesty and compassion justice and kindness toward people, and
when we are consistent about those values, it will be a non-verbal
invitation to people we are not even aware of
One
final similarity between these new Christians and the apostle Paul:
after Paul's call from Christ to be Christ's person, Paul became a
servant. He did not ask himself if this would be convenient or
comfortable or easy to be God's person, he became a servant and did
what was necessary so that others could meet Christ. Your
involvement in this community of faith will give you chances to be a
servant for others, to be a servant leader. Our world needs more and
more people who know that of those to whom much is given, much will
also be asked and expected, and that our purpose in life is not just
to have fun but to make a difference for other people.
Our
youth mission trips will be one of the prime chances for you to live
out this call of servant leadership. The youth and adults who travel
to different parts of the world have to experience living conditions
that are demanding, put up with bugs, with heat, with tough working
conditions. And they will have the privilege of showing through
their work that Christ cares for every person and that we are acting
that out.
After
one of our youth mission trips high school student Andrew McAllen
wrote about what happened in his faith journey during that trip and
he submitted this paper for his college admissions essay.
Andrew
wrote about his group's work in restoring homes on the island of
Abaco after Hurricane Floyd:
My
aching muscles and parched throat were nothing compared to the
feeling of accomplishment I felt as a house took shape where broken
boards and trash had littered the area. I built friendships,
established a value system and learned patience and tolerance...As I
boarded the bus for the airport and the flight home my mind was
flooded with memories. While on the island of Abaco I learned about
personal accountability and teamwork. I learned that possessions are
not as important as relationships and that setbacks are not as
critical as dreams.
Our
confirmands will experience those learnings also as they do what
Paul encourages each of us this morning: Hold fast to this faith you
are professing today so that you can continue to be saved and to be
made whole in Christ. We welcome you to this spiritual journey with
us! Amen.
