The Rev. Julia W. Messer
18th Sunday after Pentecost
October 16, 2011
Growing together IN MINISTRY faithfully
"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s."(Matt22)
What a great Gospel reading to use for this second Sunday of our Every Member Commitment season! By now you have gotten your pledge packets and probably know this is the second of four Sundays that we will discuss the importance of being faithful stewards of our faith community.
Today’s message is “growing together in ministry, faithfully.” The two important messages to take away from this theme and today’s gospel are about ministry AND finance.
In regards to ministry-- how often have we found ourselves not fully offering our gifts back up to God? Have you ever found yourself recognizing that you have a talent but are not utilizing it? Maybe you are a wonderful storybook reader or have an eye for photography. Yet you found yourself pushing aside that talent…almost as if you do not recognize or appreciate that you have been given these gifts from God. Perhaps these abilities seem to you as if they are “no big deal”; they are “just something you do”. When we push our gifts aside, we are acting as if we are waiting for God to see the situation and then expect Him to sets our hearts on fire. The question we have to ask ourselves is: Are we going to keep pushing these gifts aside or are we willing to stretch ourselves and see how our gifts can grow if we give ourselves the chance?
Today our intentional theme is not just about our ministries, or our ministries here at Emmanuel, but it is also about growing together FAITHFULLY.
Ways we show faithful living out/of our ministries is described in 1 Thessalonians when we are called to not only hold ourselves up but also our community in our prayers. We are to be faithful to God and to our neighbor by our work and labor which SHOWS our faith and love by being imitators of Christ. This can be shown through three types of ministry.
1. The first is our ministry of our actions. How do we engage in our community; how do we offer our gifts up to God so that we, as a Christian family, can grow together in our ministries? Do we participate in any of the numerous and varied out-reach or in-reach programs? Are we willing to take a chance and see how our gifts can be used for the greater good? Good examples would be parishioners who are part of the numerous lay ministries that make Sundays run smoothly here at Emmanuel. That would include the Altar Guild, sound system, choir and musicians, acolytes, lay readers, healing ministry stations, children’s chapel and nursery care workers, and the Flower Guild. But it also includes other types of ministry of giving of one’s self -- from donating blood to the Red Cross to giving food to feed the homeless, or our Lay Eucharistic Visitors who bring Communion to people who can’t be here on Sunday.
2. The second is our ministry of others. While we want to be the people offering ministry and help to others, there are numerous times in our lives when we are ministered to. We are called not only to be ministers, but to be open to other’s ministries to us. As servants of Christ we are called to be servants to each other and we pray that we might have the grace to let others be servants to us too. For example, we love to eat at Emmanuel, and this act which brings people together is a ministry. When the Martha Ministries
3. And the third is our ministry of presence. In some situations and some times there is nothing we can say or do that can make a difference but by just being open to Holy Spirit moving and being with a person, a ministry is offered. For example, simply greeting each other at the Peace not only signifies that we offer God’s peace to others, but we are recognizing that those we greet are here and that they are important. Another ministry of presence is hearing about a woman who was in a recovery program, and walked by our bulletin boards during a wedding a while ago. Because of the information that she read, she realized that she needed to enter into a support group. By having our doors to the church open, a person was able to recognize and take the step to enter into an intentional community that helped her. A building can even be a part of the ministry of presence.
Which leads me to the second part to remember from this theme of “growing together in ministry faithfully” -- and that is finance. Stewardship month is not only about evaluating your ministry gifts and how you are using them in your community, but also recognizing that this community could not exist or run without your gifts for ministry. Let me rephrase that again: Your gifts of ministry make the spirit of this parish run, but the parish cannot run on spirit alone. It needs your gifts for the ministry to operate. So in other words, being active in ministry and giving financially are two sides of the same coin of rending unto God what is God’s. By financially supporting Emmanuel, at whatever level, you are saying that you actively participate in the ministry of presence. It says that you believe in the ministry that is going on here and you want Emmanuel to continue. Emmanuel’s ministries are not just what you see on Sunday mornings, but include countless others, from recovery programs that we house to our outreach programs, from our social activities to our mission trips. But we are limited in that even a church is an organization that does have to rendering unto Caesar what are Caesar’s….or utility costs to the city.
The ministries here at Emmanuel are numerous and many people come into our building pass through our doors or look to Emmanuel for help and to be the safe haven that it is called to be. Emmanuel has been there for so many people and so many communities for so many years. Therefore as you pledge your time, gifts, and finances, you are saying you support the ministries here. You are saying that you are willing to grow in not only your ministries but also the ministries here that help others. We grow in all together. By pledging you are being faithful to both of these commitments—both sides of the coin. Your gifts are indeed rendered up to God.
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Now, during the PowerPoint presentation I invite you to write down on the flowers you were given one of these three ministries you have experienced here at Emmanuel or out in the world for which you are thankful for. To recap the three ministries: the first would be through the ministry of your actions, the second would be the ministry of others helping you, and the third would be the ministry of presence. Think about how a simple moment was a moment of grace to you. If you do not have a flower or would like another, raise your hand and the ushers will be bringing more around. These flowers and leaves will be placed on a board, be blessed, and our ministries will be laid before the altar for the last Sunday of stewardship.
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
+AMEN+
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