“Bridge to Ministry”

CHRISTIAN TESTAMENT:       “To the Ends of the Earth ~ Acts 1:6-14

The sermon title in the worship bulletin is “Bridge to Ministry” and this passage can be seen as that bridge.  As Dave shared with you in the introduction, the Book of Acts which has a full name, “The Acts of the Apostles,” is often understood to have been written by Luke.  Luke’s first book, “The Gospel of Luke,” tells the story of Jesus and his  ministry.  The Book of Acts does just what it’s full title says.  It is the recording of the acts of the apostles; the story about how the followers of Jesus carried on his ministry.  The scripture this morning is a bridge to ministry, from Jesus ministry to the ministry that is carried on by his followers.

You can imagine that while Jesus was alive those disciples who were gathered around him felt like they were support staff while Jesus carried on the main work of preaching and healing.  But in this passage Jesus sends them out into the world.  In fact, if you will pick up your hymn book and look on the spine down at the bottom you will see the UCC symbol, the symbol of the United Church of Christ.  There are words around the edge, “That they may all be one,” but inside that oval there is a cross with a crown, then a circle down at the bottom which is divided into three pieces.  That circle comes from this piece of scripture, “I send you out to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  That circle at the bottom of the United Church of Christ is a reminder to all of us that we have been called on to be witnesses, to carry on the ministry for Jesus because he is no longer here to do it himself.  And as we will celebrate next week on Pentecost Sunday, it is the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives to us that provides the power we need, the inspiration, the ability to do just that - to carry on the ministry of Christ.

It is a heavy obligation to carry on the ministry of Jesus in his place.  I’m sure there are times where all of us have felt more than a little bit of guilt at the way we have neglected carrying on that task.  I remember hearing a story from a friend of mine who said she went to visit one of the saints of the congregation, a woman who had been active in so many ways helping people through the years.  At the end of the visit, she asked if she could read a scripture passage for the woman.  The woman said, “Yes, I would like Psalm 51.  It’s my favorite.”  Psalm 51, if you will look it up when you get home, is a Psalm of confession.  “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”  Even with all the things she had done throughout her years, she still felt she had fallen short.

Often we have a feeling of guilt because we think we are supposed to do something major like the young ruler, selling everything we own and going out into the world to spend the rest of our life helping others who are in need.  While those are powerful stories, we’ve also tried to imagine what it would be like if everyone in the world sold everything and went out trying to help.  We would have a lot of people who would have no place to live and no food to eat.  When Jesus traveled and was supported by followers along the way, they had homes to offer, places to sleep, food to eat.  In order for some people to give up everything, there have to be others who are still in their homes and still providing for their family.  That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take a close look at the way we spend our money or the kind of life style we follow.  But it means that not all of us are called to give up everything and go out into the world to serve.

Then how are we witnesses?  Does it mean that we just stand up on street corners and proclaim Jesus as our Savior, or call on people to accept him into their hearts so their lives might be changed?  There are Christians who believe that is the primary meaning of witnessing - to speak out, to preach to people, to evangelize, to share the good news, to call them to a life of faith.  And that is necessary for us to do.  It is important to share our faith and to invite people to faith.  But there are others ways that are important, perhaps more important, and that is to witness to our belief in Christ by the way we live our lives.  We can say all we want with our mouth but if we treat people poorly, if we speak behind their backs, if we are dishonest, or lazy in our job, the words of testifying of our love for Christ don’t mean much at all.  What is most important is to show in the way you live that you are a follower of Jesus.  It is in doing that, that you give testimony, that you are a witness for Christ.

I’ve had trouble making it to the Kiwanis meetings in Kirkland.  There is a large group that meets down at the Roaster during lunch time, quite a few people who are influential in the community, or are active business people.  I was invited to join the group by George Harris and I have found great satisfaction in taking part in community service projects.  I often have conflicts on Wednesday when I’m also scheduled to be down at the Roaster.  I made it to the meeting this week and I’m glad I did because there are couple things I want to share with you today.

One of them was that George Harris wrote a letter of resignation for a particular role he has had with the organization.  “The Key Hole” is a weekly newsletter for Kirkland Kiwanis, and over the last eight years George has been busy helping to get it put together, then delivered.  Throughout those eight years, about 55 of them he has hand delivered rather than sending them through the mail.  I want to read you what was written for next week’s “Key Hole” about George’s resignation. 

“It was a momentous day at the Roaster as we heard news about beloved Brother Harris, resigning from his duties as production manager, proof reader, distribution guru, mail boy, and chief and bottle washer for the “Key Hole.

His last eight years were a labor of love.  They musta been to put up with all the different editors and hectic pace at the presses in the extravagant mail room on the fringes of “West Market” (those would be the outer frayed fringes).  Often having to call editors who had inadvertently missed deadlines, he was never shy about doing a little bit of editorializing if he thought we needed more content or forgot an announcement, and you could actually read some of his hieroglyphics that he jotted down.

In his resignation, he applies new math to the numbers of “Key Holes” produced, distributed, delivered, and used in bird-cages … To sum it up, George says he delivered 22,880 newsletters by hand, saving 32-33 cents on each, thereby saving the club $7,320.60.  I believe he saved us that much and more plus anyone like myself, who was lucky enough to share a few inspiring words with George during that delivery, is a more enriched person today.

His resignation is not due to the poor working conditions at Shinstrom Towers, but due to the fact that George is battling cancer.  He is at home and would like to have visitors, but visits must be kept very short.”

In consideration of next week’s focus on Holy Humor, I will finish reading the article about George for you.

“George had a stay at the hospital recently and it was told that during the night he had to relieve himself but obviously he needed assistance and they had forgotten to show him how to use the remote button to call the nurses station.  His voice was giving out, and calls to the nurses were to no avail.  He did the only thing that you can do in a situation like his … He picked up the phone and dialed 911.  “I gotta go to the bathroom,” he said, and they told him to stay on the line until they could get help for him.” 

The Kiwanis said what we would also say, “Our thoughts and prayers are with George and Joan.

But you will probably have to be retired if you are going to deliver 55 newsletters a day by walking up and down the hills of Kirkland.  That’s how one of our members lived out his faith.  He contributed his time and his efforts, shared himself with the people he talked to along the way.  In doing so, he was an important thread connecting the members of Kirkland Kiwanis and connecting members of the Kirkland community in general.  His role has been an important one and the fact that he is no longer able to deliver those newsletters will be a great loss for the Kiwanis and for the community of Kirkland.

There are countless people, many others even from our own congregation, that you could recognize for their committed efforts throughout the years.  There are also other stories from different places and one of them I would like to share with you is about another United Church of Christ member in Billings, Montana.  Margaret McDonald is an active member of one of our congregations, and she has also served in the ecumenical community in Billings.  When a crisis came to the city during the holidays of 1993, she was inspired by her church participation and by a story from her upbringing to take a stand.

The story is told in a children’s book called “The Christmas Menorahs - How a Town Fought Hate,” written by Janice Cohn.  It began in the fall of 1993 coming up to the holidays of Hanukah and Christmas.  Billings does not have a large Jewish population but they do have members in that community who not only follow the Jewish faith but are also important contributors to the life of Billings.  This particular year, there were vandals expressing anti-Jewish sentiments that began with the tossing of rocks through the windows of some of the homes that had Menorahs displayed for Hanukah.  The first response from the police chief was, “Take those Menorahs out of the window so you won’t be such a target.”  But as members of the community started to talk about those events, they decided that was the wrong thing to do.  Margaret McDonald was a good friend of one of the Jewish families and as she talked with them, she decided there must be a way that people could support these friends in their Jewish faith.

She was inspired by a story from her childhood.  There are those who say the story is probably not true.  It’s about the King of Denmark and his response to the Nazis during World War II.  There are many who now say that the Jews of Denmark were so well supported that the Nazis never asked the people of Denmark to persecute them.  The story that Margaret remembered hearing was that all the Jews in Denmark had been ordered to wear the Star of David so they could be identified on the streets.  King Christian of Denmark said, “If my people have to wear a Star of David, I, too, will wear a Star of David.”  He came out on his horse the next day in full uniform with a Star of David on his chest.  Many of the other Christian citizens of Denmark also wore the Star of David.  It’s a testimony to the power of story that even if this story is fanciful, a way to explain why the Jews of Denmark were able to survive in greater numbers, it still had the power over the years to motivate someone to take a stand in a particular historical circumstance.

The celebration of Hanukah, as many of you know, is a celebration of an event that happened in the second century BC.  At that time, the Assyrians had control of Israel’s land.  But there were rebel factions.  The Maccabees started to revolt and after three years they were successful in taking back their country.  When they went back into the Temple in Jerusalem, they found there was only a day’s oil to light the lamp.  They put in the oil they had, but the lamp burned for eight days - a miracle celebrating their victory over the Assyrians.  Now each year when the Jews remember their deliverance from oppression, they light the candles of the Menorah - eight candles for the eight days, and one candle, the ninth, to light the others. 

What happened in Billings was that the Menorahs did not come down in the Jewish houses.  Instead, Menorahs , real Menorahs and paper pictures of Menorahs, went up in the windows of houses throughout the City of Billings.  Not just Jewish homes but Christian homes and others who were citizens of the City of Billings.  Menorahs in support of their Jewish sisters and brothers.  Menorah’s speaking out against hatred in Billings.  Slowly, but surely, the vandalism stopped, and the City of Billings had taken a stand against hatred and bigotry.

That next year in 1994, on the national scene, there was an election, a senate election, in Virginia between Oliver North and Chuck Robb  Conservative politicians who were also rooted in fundamentalist Christian faith, decided they could gather the forces of those churches in support of their candidate, Oliver North.  They called North God’s candidate, and criticized Church Robb.  The more religion was used, the uglier it got.  Finally, religious leaders across the country decided that it was time to put a stop to this kind of manipulation of religion.  And so The Interfaith Alliance was born - leaders standing up to say that religion should not be used for political ends, and that one group should not claim that they have the whole truth and condemn all those of other faiths.

It was that same fall that I arrived here to begin as your pastor.  In late October, the first meeting took place in Redmond to talk about the possibility of establishing an Interfaith Alliance affiliate here in Washington State.  I was invited to the second meeting as an opportunity to meet some of my more liberal colleagues.  By the third meeting I had volunteered to serve on the steering committee and have served now for over four years.  The last three years I have served as President of the organization.  This afternoon we will have our annual meeting and I will be ending my term, both as President and as a Board member.  But I’ve been proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the last four years as a fully volunteer organization, not only here in Washington State but throughout many states of the country.  We have challenged the manipulation of religion for conservative political purposes.  We have been able to do that in print, on television, on talk radio.  We have challenged candidates for office to run civil campaigns and to not use bigotry and prejudice to promote their ends.  We have encouraged people of faith to register to vote and to go out and make sure their voices were heard in elections.  We have encouraged houses of worship to refuse to distribute partisan voter guides in houses of worship, believing we should be standing for values that are above the platforms of the Republicans or the Democrats.  We should be calling all politicians to a higher level of morality and behavior.  We have published a Vision for a Civil Society calling us all to be concerned about one another and to work for the betterment of our state for all our citizens.

We hope these efforts have been honest understandings of what our people need, that they have really been efforts on behalf of all people rather than just attempts to promote our own private desires.  That’s an important thing when we decide to witness.  We ought to be careful that what we are witnessing to is not just a fad, not just something that we like, not just a pet project.  We have to witness to the Word of God for all of God’s people; we have to witness to God’s love that is poured out for all the people of the world, not just the Jews and not just the Christians but to all of God’s people.  What kind of a small God would it be if God could only reveal God’s divine self to a tiny group of people?  What kind of a God would it be if God expected that that small group of people would spread the news to the whole world over two thousand years?  It hasn’t happened that way.  There are still many people who live for themselves, or live to survive each day, or live with hatred in their hearts.

I believe God is revealed in many different ways to many different people and we share those revelations so we can learn from each other and grow together.  Our Menorah today is a special symbol of this unity.  The Menorah you will recognize as being from the Jewish faith, but the candles here are a gift from the Eastern Orthodox congregation that meets down the hallway.  They offered a bag of used candles from their worship services, some of these perhaps being from Easter Sunday, and they fit the Menorah exactly right.  I believe it’s a wonderful symbol of us sharing together from the depths of our faith.

There was a moment of meditation at the Kiwanis meeting and I want to share that with you today as I close.

Wherefore when we build,
Let us think that we build forever;
            Let it not be for the present delight
            Nor be for present use alone.
            Let it be such work
            As our descendants will thank us for;
            And let us think as we lay stone on stone
            That a time is to come
            When these stones will be held sacred
            Because our hands have touched them;
            And that men and women will say as they look upon the labor,
            And the worthy substance of them,
            “See, this is what our forebearers did for us.”

Those are words of John Raskin.

As we testify to our faith, I pray that those who come after us will be able to stand and say, “See, this is what our forebearers did for us.”

Thanks be to God.  Amen.