“Envisioning a New Church for a New Context”

            This Sunday, April 28th, is Confirmation Sunday at my home church, Christ United Methodist.  Confirmation is a special Sunday set aside to welcome our young middle-schoolers into full membership in our church.  These middle-schoolers have been studying and preparing for nine months in order to be confirmed as new church members.  This Sunday is their big day in the church. 
   

In reflecting on what to say to these young middle-schoolers, I decided to invite them to join with me and other church members in envisioning a new future for the Church in general—and Christ United Methodist in particular.  To focus our thoughts this Sunday, I’ve decided to remind everyone about a story concerning how the Apostle Peter came to a new and broader vision for the early church.

The story takes place after Pentecost, during the early development of the Christian church, as Peter and other Christians began to spread out from Jerusalem, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  At this early point in the development of the Church, all “Christians” were devout Jewish Christians.  Christianity itself was little more than a spiritual renewal movement within Judaism. 

            Peter was a devout Jew, meaning that he had chosen a life defined by study of Jewish scriptures and a morality of rigorous adherence to Jewish laws, including maintaining ritual cleanliness.  Maintaining ritual purity involved only eating certain prescribed foods, prepared in the prescribed manner; it also entailed avoiding social contact with Gentile—that is, non-Jewish—persons.

            By contrast, Cornelius was a Gentile.  Cornelius was an officer in the Roman Army.  Yet, Cornelius was also a very devout man, in his own way.  Luke, the writer of Acts, describes him as “a devout man who loved God with all his household; he gave offerings generously to the people and prayed constantly to God” (Acts 10:2). 

            One day, God spoke to Cornelius through a vision or dream.  In the dream, an angel tells Cornelius, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.  Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter.”  Cornelius was eager to obey God and to learn from Peter, so he sent three men to find Peter.  Whereas Cornelius was very excited to have Peter visit him, Peter had a problem with meeting and teaching Cornelius.  As a devout Jew, Peter was religiously prohibited from visiting in the homes of Gentile—or, having any social contact with Cornelius.  To do so would make Peter ritually unclean.

            Nonetheless, God had a special message for Peter.  The next day Peter, who had been fasting, went up on the roof of the house while others prepared some food for him to eat.  As he waited on the roof, Peter fell into a trance and had a vision.  In his dream, Peter saw a large sheet being lowered to him.  In the sheet were all types of different animals.  Then, a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat” (Acts 10:13).  Unfortunately, when Peter looked at the animals in the sheet, he saw that they were prohibited for food under the Jewish purity laws.

            Since Peter tried very hard to maintain ritual purity by only eating the prescribed foods, he replied, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean” (Acts 10:14).  But, then, God made a startling comment:  “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (Acts 10:15).  This scenario played out three separate times.

            Peter was completely perplexed by his dream.  And, he was still trying to figure out what it all meant when the men sent by Cornelius arrived at his house.  Then, God spoke to Peter through the Holy Spirit and said, “Look, three men are searching for you.  Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them” (Acts 10:19-20).

            So, Peter invited the emissaries sent by Cornelius to come into his house and stay with him.  The next day Peter, along with some of his friends who were Jewish-Christians, went with the Gentile men and returned to Cornelius and entered his home.  Just to be clear here:

Ø  Peter talked with the Gentile messengers, even though that was prohibited by his moral code, a code that he believed was given by God.

Ø  Not only did Peter talk with the Gentile men, he invited them into his home and ate with them, once again violating the Jewish law.

Ø  Finally, Peter went to Cornelius’ house, once again violating the Jewish law.

When he met Cornelius, Peter said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who loves God and does what is right is acceptable to God” (Acts 10:34-35).  Then, Peter began to tell Cornelius, along with all of Cornelius’ family and friends, about the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When Peter finished speaking, he—along with his Jewish-Christian friends who had come with him to Cornelius’ house—were astounded to see that all of their Gentile listeners were filled with the Holy Spirit and wanted to become Christians.  Peter asked, “‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’  So, Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 10:47-48). 

Peter’s decision, confirmed by his Jewish-Christian friends, proved to be a transformational turning point in the development of Christianity.  Before his vision, Peter had a narrow, restricted view of the Church and the scope of its ministry.  At this point, Christianity was merely a spiritual renewal movement within Judaism—as noted above.  However, God’s vision for the Church was much larger and broader in scope. 

Although Jews have been God’s Chosen People, Peter came to see that God’s love was not restricted just to one religious group.  Instead, God—through Jesus Christ—reaches out in love to every single person.  God seeks to be in a divine relationship with all of us, regardless of age, race, nationality, sexual orientation, or anything else that differentiates us.  Peter’s vision helped him gain a broader perspective of what God intended for the Church to be.  Later, Peter shared his vision and experience with the Apostles and other Christian leaders (see Acts 11:1-18).  Eventually, Peter’s vision— along with the experiences of the Apostle Paul and others—helped the early Church to broaden its vision and respond faithfully to God’s call.

In my sermon on this Confirmation Sunday, I will suggest that Peter’s story provides important insights for the contemporary Church, as we seek to envision a new future that is faithful to God.  I will challenge our new confirmands share their hopes and dreams for the future of our faith community, Christ United Methodist Church.  I want everyone, including our newest members to share their visions for the future of their church.

Come, join us this Sunday, April 28th, at Christ United Methodist Church, as we explore how this rich story of Peter and Cornelius can inform our faith even today.  As part of my proclamation this Sunday, I will share my vision for the future of Christ United Methodist Church, as a way to stimulate the visioning of everyone—both new and old members.  I will organize my vision based upon the four pillars of Christian life, which we have embraced at Christ United Methodist:

1.      Seek God

2.      Act Inclusively

3.      Serve Others

4.      Do Justice

Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street.  We have three worship services on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.  The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the services are held in our Sanctuary.  “The Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family Life Center (gym), and it is more informal and interactive.  Our special confirmation will be par t of the 11 am service. 

Come, join us.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

Pollyanna Got It Right ! ! !

            The movie character, “Pollyanna,” has taken a special place in American culture. 

“Pollyanna” refers to Pollyanna, the 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter, which was developed into the 1960 film by Disney Studios, starring Hayley Mills.  In the film, Pollyanna is a 12-year-old orphaned girl, who arrives in the small town of Harrington to be adopted by her aunt.  As the story unfolds, Pollyanna captivates and transforms the town with her sunny optimism and the “glad game” which her father taught her before his death.  The point of the “glad game” is to find something to be glad about, even in the saddest and most disappointing circumstances.  The game is basically the attitude of finding a “silver lining in every cloud.”

            Over the years, however, the word, “Pollyanna,” has become a derogatory adjective, referring to someone who is unrealistically optimistic and somewhat childish.  To describe a person as “Pollyannish” means that they are not well grounded in reality and that they are naïve. This caricature in contemporary culture overlooks the context of the Pollyanna character’s philosophy. 

In the film, Pollyanna’s joy and optimism are firmly rooted within the context of her Christian faith.  This becomes clear in the climactic scene in the film, when Pollyanna and the village pastor have a one-on-one conversation.  In the scene, Pollyanna explains that she always tries to look for the good in people.  Further, she claims that there are 800 verses in the Bible that call upon the faithful to rejoice and be glad.  So, she concludes that so many repetitions about rejoicing and being glad must mean that they are very important to God.

            In my Easter proclamation this Sunday at Christ United Methodist Church, I will suggest that the character, Pollyanna, provides an excellent model for how we should think and live as followers of Christ in the post-resurrection world. 

The Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ reveal important aspects concerning who God is.  In the Incarnation, the Transcendent Divinity becomes enfleshed as the man, Jesus of Nazareth, because of God’s profound and incomprehensible love for all humans and their world.  The Incarnation signals that God continues to be very active in the world, working to redeem the world—especially human persons.  The Resurrection of this same Jesus of Nazareth marks a cosmic tippling point in natural history.  With Christ’s Resurrection, we receive the divine guarantee that, ultimately, God will prevail.  God will establish God’s Kingdom here on Earth.  When God’s Reign is fully established, then we will be fully redeemed as part of God’s New Creation.  The prophet in the Book of Revelation describes this New Creation, based upon a vision which he has had:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:1-5a)

The Resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of God’s Reign, even though that Reign is only partially established and not yet fully complete.

            As followers of Christ, we live in an intermediate time between the Easter Resurrection and the final completion of God’s redemptive Reign as described in Revelation.  In this interim period, God calls us to be a Resurrection People.  It is in this context that I believe the movie character, “Pollyanna,” teaches the followers of Christ how we are to live as a Resurrection People.   Just as Pollyanna, God intends for us to live lives filled with hope and joy. 

            We live lives filled with hope because we trust that ultimately God will prevail, and the world will be redeemed.  This hope is akin to watching the recording of a ballgame, already knowing the game’s outcome.  If we know in advance that our team won the game, then we can watch the recorded game, confident that our team will ultimately prevail, even if in the middle of the game their defeat seems all but guaranteed.  Similarly, we can live lives filled with hope and joy because of God’s guarantee, through Christ’s Resurrection, that ultimately God will prevail and the world will be redeemed.

            Of course, when we live lives filled with joy and hope, then we may appear as being slightly “Pollyannish” to those around us.  Regardless, our hope and joy are firmly grounded on the guarantee provided through Christ’s Resurrection and not on any whimsical fantasy.

Come and celebrate Easter with us this Sunday, April 21st.  Christ United Methodist Church is located at 4530 A Street.  On Easter Sunday, we will have two classic worship services at 8:30 and 11:00 in the morning.  In between the two services, we will have an Easter Brunch in our Family Life Center (gym) from 9:45-10:30.  Everyone is welcome.  Come and join us for both worship and the Easter brunch.

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.