Better Together, Sermon, Sept. 30, 2007
Better Together.07
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
September 30, 2007
40 Days of Community, Kick off
Exodus 18:13-27; Philippians 2:1-5; Luke 9:12-17
Today is our kick off for 40 Days of Community. Many people have been praying to prepare for today and the days ahead. Many people have been working many hours to prepare. Some people will host a group of people in their home; others will lead discussions. Many of you have already signed up to participate in a Faith Group during 40 Days of Community. And so here we are ready to begin.
If we are to find value in what lies ahead for us, we must have it clear in our hearts and minds that we need one another. We cannot make it on our own. We cannot be all that we can be without one another. We must come to the conviction in our hearts and in our minds that we need one another.
People who are joined together are community. God has created us to be with one another; and we, as the Body of Christ, are created to be the example and the witness of authentic community. The Bible is full of examples to tell us that we need one another and we need community. The Bible readings we have this morning are no exception. I want us to take a closer look at these readings and then a closer look at ourselves.
Moses was called and gifted by God to free and lead God’s people. One would think that in his position he spent his day in high level visionary planning and training the most gifted leaders. But that was not true. Moses is found spending most of his day settling arguments among people. Is this best way for him to be using his gifts? His father-in-law, Jethro, didn’t think so. He asked Moses: “Why are you trying to do all of this by yourself?”
Moses explains that the people need him; to which Jethro says: “This is not good. You cannot handle all this by yourself. Your job is to serve God’s people. Teach them. Show them how to live. Appoint others who are wise and discerning to settle these arguments so that you can tackle the more difficult things.”
This reading ends with this: Moses listened to the advice and followed it. This is a great lesson to learn about the value of community. Moses needed someone else to point that out to him. “What you are doing is not good”, Jethro pointed out to him. Moses was important to the community and the community needed him to use his gifts.
We are shown a remarkable trait of humility in Moses. Moses wasn’t filled with self-importance thinking that it was all up to him. Moses not only listened to the advice that Jethro gave him but he followed the advice. He did so because he trusted Jethro. That was a trust that had grown over the years.
It is in community, in relationships, where trust grows. Because Moses was open to listen, more people where involved in serving and more work was getting done. And it happened because the spotlight was on the value of community.
In the reading from Luke, the followers of Jesus came to Jesus with a request: before it gets too late dismiss the people. It is going to be chaos if they stay. “You feed them.” Jesus said.
“Impossible. We don’t have anything. And if we did… are you expecting us to spend our hard earned cash on them?” Rather than taking this conversation any further, Jesus shows them how to problem solve.
He instructs his followers to have the people sit down in small groups in an orderly fashion. And then Jesus took what they had (2 fish and 5 loaves of bread) and Jesus asked God to bless it. The food was then distributed and when dinner was over they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers; but more than that. They saw the power of God at work in community.
God expanded their understanding. God enlarged their perspective about life. Jesus led them to see that what they believe is impossible is not impossible for God. This community was learning about the value of worshiping together, serving together, growing together and reaching out together. They learned the value of community.
And to the letter to the Philippians, Paul is teaching the church in practical ways how to live the command of Christ. The command of Christ is that we love one another. Love is only active in relationship. Where there are relationships, there is community. Giving encourage-ment, living in fellowship, suffering with one another, loving one another, working together with one heart and purpose are practical ways to love one another.
These are lessons about community. There are some things we can do on our own, but there are many more things in life we will never be able to do with other people. From the beginning of Scripture when God says that is not good for us to be alone, to the very end in Revelation where there is a gathering together of all God’s people, and found all in between, the Bible is God’s great story about community.
Although God has created us to be together we don’t do community well. It doesn’t come easy to us. It is really something we must work at; and the truth is that we will work at what we think is important.
This past week I was at my doctor’s office for a routine check up with a stress test. The purpose of this test is to put stress on the heart to see how it is functioning under stress. There was a steady stream of people on that day coming in for the same reason. There were three rooms. In one we waited. In the second room was an imaging machine to scan the chest; and the third was a treadmill.
Only one technician was administering the test for all of us. She had someone in every room.
She got the patient in the imaging room and got that started. While that was going, she took someone to the treadmill; and then she injected a third person with radioactive isotopes. She was releasing a person and then going to the main waiting room for another person. She had a rhythm down, doing this all by herself.
It crossed my mind, what if she got distracted; what if she mixed up the charts; what if there was a crisis or two at one time? So, while she was hooking me up to all the wires while I was on the treadmill I thought I would investigate this. I said: “You are impressive. You have a lot going on at one time. You need an assistant in here.”
“I would rather work by myself,” she said. “When I was hired I asked if I could do this by myself. It takes too much effort to try to work it out with someone else. I am able to do more than the two men who worked together to do my job.”
All I could say was: “So, it is true. One woman is as good as two men.”
She expressed what a lot of people experience when she said it takes too much effort to try to work it out with someone else. It takes effort to work in authentic community. It doesn’t come easily for us. It may take a lot of effort, but it is worth the effort. And I believe that the effort is what God wants for us to make. We may become efficient in work by ourselves, but that is not a notable quality for life.
God promises that when we are in community that things happen that can only happen when we are together. The most important of those things is love.
Let’s assume that God is wrong about this and you don’t need to be with others; but others need you. What you have to offer others, no one else can do. You may be the Jethro for someone else, with the counsel that no one else can give.
40 Days of Community is intended to help us mature in our understanding of our need of community. In your Faith Group, you will find that when you allow other people into your life you will grow together; you will serve other people better… together. In community you will share love.
God is forming us for community so that God’s purposes are done. Moses learned that… and so did a few Christ - followers who were clueless about how to serve their world. And now today we are learning again that living the life God intends for us to live… is better together.
It is better together. In the weeks ahead you are going to learn that is true; and when all of us, together, are learning that …I believe that God will bless it and do things among us that we never imagined could happen. When you see what God will do in the weeks ahead, you will be overjoyed that you made the decision to be part of that. Amen.
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
September 30, 2007
40 Days of Community, Kick off
Exodus 18:13-27; Philippians 2:1-5; Luke 9:12-17
Today is our kick off for 40 Days of Community. Many people have been praying to prepare for today and the days ahead. Many people have been working many hours to prepare. Some people will host a group of people in their home; others will lead discussions. Many of you have already signed up to participate in a Faith Group during 40 Days of Community. And so here we are ready to begin.
If we are to find value in what lies ahead for us, we must have it clear in our hearts and minds that we need one another. We cannot make it on our own. We cannot be all that we can be without one another. We must come to the conviction in our hearts and in our minds that we need one another.
People who are joined together are community. God has created us to be with one another; and we, as the Body of Christ, are created to be the example and the witness of authentic community. The Bible is full of examples to tell us that we need one another and we need community. The Bible readings we have this morning are no exception. I want us to take a closer look at these readings and then a closer look at ourselves.
Moses was called and gifted by God to free and lead God’s people. One would think that in his position he spent his day in high level visionary planning and training the most gifted leaders. But that was not true. Moses is found spending most of his day settling arguments among people. Is this best way for him to be using his gifts? His father-in-law, Jethro, didn’t think so. He asked Moses: “Why are you trying to do all of this by yourself?”
Moses explains that the people need him; to which Jethro says: “This is not good. You cannot handle all this by yourself. Your job is to serve God’s people. Teach them. Show them how to live. Appoint others who are wise and discerning to settle these arguments so that you can tackle the more difficult things.”
This reading ends with this: Moses listened to the advice and followed it. This is a great lesson to learn about the value of community. Moses needed someone else to point that out to him. “What you are doing is not good”, Jethro pointed out to him. Moses was important to the community and the community needed him to use his gifts.
We are shown a remarkable trait of humility in Moses. Moses wasn’t filled with self-importance thinking that it was all up to him. Moses not only listened to the advice that Jethro gave him but he followed the advice. He did so because he trusted Jethro. That was a trust that had grown over the years.
It is in community, in relationships, where trust grows. Because Moses was open to listen, more people where involved in serving and more work was getting done. And it happened because the spotlight was on the value of community.
In the reading from Luke, the followers of Jesus came to Jesus with a request: before it gets too late dismiss the people. It is going to be chaos if they stay. “You feed them.” Jesus said.
“Impossible. We don’t have anything. And if we did… are you expecting us to spend our hard earned cash on them?” Rather than taking this conversation any further, Jesus shows them how to problem solve.
He instructs his followers to have the people sit down in small groups in an orderly fashion. And then Jesus took what they had (2 fish and 5 loaves of bread) and Jesus asked God to bless it. The food was then distributed and when dinner was over they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers; but more than that. They saw the power of God at work in community.
God expanded their understanding. God enlarged their perspective about life. Jesus led them to see that what they believe is impossible is not impossible for God. This community was learning about the value of worshiping together, serving together, growing together and reaching out together. They learned the value of community.
And to the letter to the Philippians, Paul is teaching the church in practical ways how to live the command of Christ. The command of Christ is that we love one another. Love is only active in relationship. Where there are relationships, there is community. Giving encourage-ment, living in fellowship, suffering with one another, loving one another, working together with one heart and purpose are practical ways to love one another.
These are lessons about community. There are some things we can do on our own, but there are many more things in life we will never be able to do with other people. From the beginning of Scripture when God says that is not good for us to be alone, to the very end in Revelation where there is a gathering together of all God’s people, and found all in between, the Bible is God’s great story about community.
Although God has created us to be together we don’t do community well. It doesn’t come easy to us. It is really something we must work at; and the truth is that we will work at what we think is important.
This past week I was at my doctor’s office for a routine check up with a stress test. The purpose of this test is to put stress on the heart to see how it is functioning under stress. There was a steady stream of people on that day coming in for the same reason. There were three rooms. In one we waited. In the second room was an imaging machine to scan the chest; and the third was a treadmill.
Only one technician was administering the test for all of us. She had someone in every room.
She got the patient in the imaging room and got that started. While that was going, she took someone to the treadmill; and then she injected a third person with radioactive isotopes. She was releasing a person and then going to the main waiting room for another person. She had a rhythm down, doing this all by herself.
It crossed my mind, what if she got distracted; what if she mixed up the charts; what if there was a crisis or two at one time? So, while she was hooking me up to all the wires while I was on the treadmill I thought I would investigate this. I said: “You are impressive. You have a lot going on at one time. You need an assistant in here.”
“I would rather work by myself,” she said. “When I was hired I asked if I could do this by myself. It takes too much effort to try to work it out with someone else. I am able to do more than the two men who worked together to do my job.”
All I could say was: “So, it is true. One woman is as good as two men.”
She expressed what a lot of people experience when she said it takes too much effort to try to work it out with someone else. It takes effort to work in authentic community. It doesn’t come easily for us. It may take a lot of effort, but it is worth the effort. And I believe that the effort is what God wants for us to make. We may become efficient in work by ourselves, but that is not a notable quality for life.
God promises that when we are in community that things happen that can only happen when we are together. The most important of those things is love.
Let’s assume that God is wrong about this and you don’t need to be with others; but others need you. What you have to offer others, no one else can do. You may be the Jethro for someone else, with the counsel that no one else can give.
40 Days of Community is intended to help us mature in our understanding of our need of community. In your Faith Group, you will find that when you allow other people into your life you will grow together; you will serve other people better… together. In community you will share love.
God is forming us for community so that God’s purposes are done. Moses learned that… and so did a few Christ - followers who were clueless about how to serve their world. And now today we are learning again that living the life God intends for us to live… is better together.
It is better together. In the weeks ahead you are going to learn that is true; and when all of us, together, are learning that …I believe that God will bless it and do things among us that we never imagined could happen. When you see what God will do in the weeks ahead, you will be overjoyed that you made the decision to be part of that. Amen.
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