Necessities

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

November 15, 2015

Necessities

Mark 12:41-44

Sitting across from the offering box,

Jesus was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection.

Many of the rich were making large contributions.

One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—

a measly two cents.

Jesus called his disciples over and said,

“The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection

than all the others put together.

All the others gave what they’ll never miss;

she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—

she gave her all.”

(The Message)

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You saw it with your own eyes;

you heard it with your own ears.

You saw and heard last Sunday in this room,

this Sanctuary,

here in God’s Holy House:

why we are doing our capital campaign,

why we are committed to

strengthening our foundation

by building on our past for a stronger future.

You saw the reason in the faces of those

wonderfully energetic, imaginative,

faithful young people who fed us so richly

as they led last week’s worship services.

They are the reason.

They are the future,

our future and the future of this church.

Those of you who weren’t here –

you missed it.

It’s a shame you weren’t here.

You missed a service that was faithful,

creative,

and lively.

You missed a service that would have moved you,

fed you,

enriched you.

You missed a service

that surely delighted God.

To our young people I say:

“Thank you.

Thank you for feeding me;

thank you for feeding all of us

who were here last Sunday.

I will worship in your church any Sunday,

and I will worship with gratitude –

gratitude for your exuberant faith,

a model to me, a model to us all.”

We should all say to our young people:

“Thank you.”

We should also say to them,

“We are proud of you.”

We have reason to be proud of them,

even slightly selfish reasons,

for our pride in them reflects well on us:

we are clearly doing something right!

For all the things we encourage

and help our young people to do:

Sunday school, youth groups,

singing with Mrs. Pannell,

Mystery Dinners,

Talent Shows, car washes,

trips to Massenetta Springs and Montreat,

even bus breakdowns on the way to Triennium,

our young people are learning about Christ,

learning with Christ through us, all of us.

And in the process they are growing in Spirit,

growing closer to God.

We create all these many opportunities

for our young people through our giving,

our sharing,

our generosity.

We create opportunities where they can learn,

be nurtured and nourished,

and most important, ask their questions,

the questions all young people have

as they grow in maturity, spirit and faith.

We provide them a place, a safe place,

where they can ask questions,

and not be limited to thinking in

dollops of 140 characters.

We provide them with a place

where they can ask any kind of question,

every kind of question,

including the questions that we all have had on our minds

since Friday night’s horrific attacks in Paris,

with so many killed and injured.

How should we respond to such appalling violence

as disciples of Jesus Christ?

How should we respond as faithful followers of

the Prince of Peace?

What should we say?

What should we do?

What should we be thinking?

We know what we feel,

most of filled with a visceral desire

to attack the attackers, to find them,

track them down and rid the world of them.

But what would Jesus say to us,

what would Jesus teach us,

what would Jesus expect from us?

“Do not resist an evil-doer,” says our Lord.

“Love your enemies,” says our Lord.

(Matthew 5:39, 44)

We hear those words,

words from our Lord,

right from his mouth,

clear as can be in Holy Scripture,

and what’s our response?

“No! No!

Jesus, you cannot expect that from us,

not in the face of such unspeakable violence!

No, Jesus!

Surely you cannot be asking that much of us,

that we are to love an enemy

who seems utterly consumed with hatred,

destruction, murder.

Do not resist such a person?

No, Jesus, you ask too much of us!”

Where else but here in this church,

this church, our church

can our young people ask such questions.

Where else can any of us, for that matter,

find a place to have such a conversation?

To ask difficult questions,

hear difficult, challenging responses,

and then learn that it is okay to think,

“Lord, I don’t understand why you expect that of me;

how you can expect of that me.

It is too much to ask.”

This church is a place for all of us

to pose questions,

to seek for answers,

and to wrestle, struggle with,

perhaps even push back

on what we are taught

by our Lord, our Teacher.

Lots of places offer answers,

simple and simplistic answers

to even the most challenging problems.

Problems of adolescence, careers, relationships,

finances, health, families.

But for as simple as the answers often sound,

“Love your enemy;

forgive him, forgive her”

we can find it awfully difficult,

sometimes even impossible,

to live by those answers.

So we create a place where we learn together,

all of us asking our questions,

all of us seeking understanding,

all of us eager to grow in faith,

so we can grow in Christ.

                          

We create a place where we can ask questions,

from the simple to the profound:

Can Christians, Jews, and Muslims

live peaceably in the world?

Why have our histories been filled with such violence?

Can we simply say, “they are wrong”

when we all worship the same God,

the God of Abraham?”

We create a place where we go beyond asking

“what would Jesus do?”

to asking,

“How can I live as Jesus seems to be teaching me,

especially when Jesus seems to be asking me

to do the impossible?”

We create a place here through our giving

where we struggle

even with Jesus’ most difficult sayings,

never coming up with simple answers,

but hopefully realizing

that with each fresh look,

a little more light shines;

our eyes, hearts and minds

are opened a little more.

We create a place here through our giving

where we learn

that there is great joy to be found

in being a disciple of Jesus Christ,

but there is also much hard work:

Then Jesus told his disciples,

“If any want to become my followers,

let them deny themselves

and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it,

and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit them

if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?

Or what will they give in return for their life?”

(Matthew 16:24-25)

The great 19^th century preacher Phillips Brooks said,

“You shall expect of your faith

new and greater things.

…Look on it with continual

and confident expectation

to see it open into something greater and truer.”

(New Experiences, 29)

We create a place here through our giving

where we can see our faith unfold and grow;

unfold and grow not always

smoothly and continuously,

but often in fits and starts.

We create a place here through our giving

where we can be confident

that when we do struggle and slip,

we will know that we will find our Lord there,

arms wide open with a grace-filled embrace.

We create a place here through our giving

where we learn the necessities of life,

what in life truly matters,

where learn the meaning of,

“To be full of things is to be empty of God.”

(Meister Ekhart)

                          

We create a place here through our giving

where we can find and know that deep peace

that we all seek throughout our lives,

that peace that can never be bought,

but can only be found.

This is why we are doing our capital campaign.

You saw it in the eyes and heard it in the voices

of those wonderful young people

who led us in worship last week.

This is why our campaign leaders,

those who have worked so hard for so long

to plan our campaign and make it happen,

have stepped up and made their commitments,

leading the way,

at last count 25 families,

 committing more than $330,000.

It is your turn to follow our leaders,

our campaign leaders,

and also our extraordinary young people,

from whom we can learn so much,

and who call us now to strengthen this place,

for them, yes,

but also for you and for me,

for all of us,

for anyone and everyone

who walks through our doors.

All of us, together, following the One

who teaches us,

challenges us,

sometimes pushes us

where we don’t want to go,

and always loves us:

our Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN