You Matter! : Covered Dish With Jesus

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            Welcome back to Making Waves! So glad that you are joining us once again this week as we dive in to our third and final week of “You Matter!”: a series that assures us that we make a difference in this world and in the mission of Jesus Christ. During this political season and this rough generation of hatred, it can be hard to feel like we can even make a dent in this society, but over these past few weeks, we have read and seen how that couldn’t be further from the truth. We DO make a difference and we are specially selected to impact this world in our wonderfully crafted method.

Two weeks ago, we started off this series with a discussion on how the Bible tells us that we matter. We read how we are all part of one body, with many different parts. Then last week, we looked at how the Holy Spirit tells us that we matter. We looked and saw that we are all given special spiritual gifts that make us uniquely gifted to serve in the mission of spreading the love of Christ. Well, in this final week of our series, we are going to take a look at whether or not Jesus tells us that we matter. Spoiler Alert: He does. So, without going any more into it, let’s dive into the Word. First, some background. This week, we’ll be reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 24, starting in verse 36 and going to verse 49. Jesus has been crucified and He has raised from the tomb. All of his closest friends believe Him to be dead, but when the Marys see Jesus’ tomb opened, they tell the disciples immediately. So, the disciples are having this argument when all of a sudden our scripture begins. I invite you to follow along belong, or find a similar translation online.

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

-Luke 24:36-29 (NRSV)

Will you pray with me?

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be acceptable in Your presence, for You are our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Folks, I love this passage. It’s one of my favorite pieces of scripture out there, because I love Jesus and the disciple’s relationship. Sometimes I like to call the disciples the “duh-sciples” because of their actions that can just seem borderline dumb. This is one of those moments.

Now, let me explain my thinking here: Jesus has spent years preparing these people. He found the people who would carry the Church and He just took so much time making sure that they knew why Jesus had come to Earth. Then, Jesus is crucified, all according to the plan of the prophets to forgive us of our sins, and they immediately lose all faith.

Then, Jesus comes back, again, according to the plan, and the disciples have a secret meeting to discuss whether or not they even believe that Jesus is actually back, with Thomas saying that he won’t buy it until he touches Jesus’ scars. And then, while they are arguing, Jesus –poof- just appears to them. And what do they do? They are so spooked and frightened that they just assume that Jesus is a ghost!

So, Jesus offers up his scars and says, go ahead and touch my scars, feel my bones, can you now see that I am real and flesh and not a ghost? But the duh-sciples still won’t buy it. This is where I think Jesus proves, more than any other time in the whole Bible, that He is human. He gets so frustrated by His followers that He just breaks down and gives in to His gut. “Do you have anything here to eat?” This is Jesus’ way of getting on our level. His method of saying, “Listen!” My wife is a teacher and she says that in order to get her kids’ attention, she will clap a fun pattern or song for them and they will join in and pay attention. Well, this is Jesus clapping at his disciples.

Finally, Jesus has the disciples’ attention, and He is able to explain the rest of the mission. “The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Now, here is where the Bible ends and our current day picks up. We’ve read this word this morning and we’ve heard this message and seen what the scripture has to say.

Folks, we are just so similar to the disciples. Jesus is talking to us actively here in this church this morning. He is speaking to us in this world; this society. But we are too busy talking about whether or not He actually came back, whether or not communion is done with a cup or a plate, whether or not to get green carpet or red carpet, we are so distracted by other things (less important things) that we are ignoring that Jesus is ALIVE and in this room with us RIGHT NOW. He’s appearing before us, and we are totally missing Him.

Now, let’s take it to the next step: Jesus is clapping His hands together. Can you hear Him? Can you hear Him saying, “Do you have anything here to eat?” “Can you listen to what I have to say?”

Fortunately for us, and unlike us, Jesus’ mission hasn’t changed since those very first days whenever He came to see the disciples. He offers up the same phrase to us this morning. “The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

So, let’s break that phrase down and see if we can’t better understand what Jesus’ is saying here. First, we start with the initial phrase, “The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day...” How do we begin? Well, this may seem simple, but we begin with Following Jesus. Our first step to fulfilling the mission of the church is to simply Follow Jesus. We first understand and believe that Jesus really came to us, He really suffered and died, and He really rose from the dead. That’s step one.

Next, Jesus tells us that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations...” So, now that are Followers of Jesus, what are called to next? We are called to Make Disciples. We are called to preach the forgiveness of sins. We are spreading the Good News with all those that we encounter. Jesus doesn’t want us to just be those that sit back and enjoy the ride; He calls us to be actively spreading this message with those of this world.

Finally, Jesus says to “begin with Jerusalem.” Obviously, Jesus isn’t calling us to all take a plane over to Jerusalem, and to make sure that each and every person in Jerusalem believes in Christ and then move on to the rest of the world. No, the reason that this is necessary to add to this prophecy is not because it’s important that we begin with Jerusalem. It’s the opposite. This phrase is included because we should not END with Jerusalem. “Jerusalem” being our backyard, whether that mean Pelham, Ruffin, Danville, or wherever you might be. Jesus is telling us in this phrase that we are called to Transform the World. Uppercase “World.”

In his sermon from 1785, John Wesley, the founder of the United Methodist denomination, looked at the promises made of the people of God in the book of Revelation and he saw that God is, through the new covenant, forging a new creation in us. This is where the UMC gets this idea of transforming grace. We are being called here to become a new creation, to transform from our old selves and become something entirely new.

So, I know what you’re thinking next. You’re likely thinking to yourself, “Okay, Nathan, this all sounds great. But this just isn’t specific enough. How do I know exactly HOW to do all of this?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

How many of you are visual learners? I can say, without a doubt, that I am very much a visual learner. If I can see something, I stand a much better chance of understanding it than if I simply just read it. I think that we can develop a plan of action of making a difference and fulfilling Jesus’ commission by using the triangle.

First, let’s look at the triangle itself. Imagine that the triangle is the gospel. It is the central message. Like we mentioned earlier, this is the part of Jesus’ message that says that, first and foremost, you must Believe and Follow Jesus.

Okay, now on each point of the triangle, we will put a method of serving and participating in this mission. On one point, we will put Worship, on the second, let’s put Community, on the third, let’s put Teaching. Your image should look something like this.

 

Now, I chose a triangle for a very specific reason, because each point of a triangle feeds into another point on the triangle. They are all connected to each other in some way. It is the same way in our mission and service. If we have vibrant and thriving worship, then we will naturally lead to a bigger community and more grounded and insightful teaching. If we have structured and disciplined teaching, then we will lead to a Christ-centered community and we will have more fulfilling worship. If we have a healthy, inclusive, and loving community, then we will have a desire for inspiring teaching and we will have a strong basis for worship. They all work with one another and spawn from the same inner source: the gospel.

So, finally, what are the lines of the triangle that tie them all together? You can write the name “Pastor Nathan” on all of those lines, if you want to, but I doubt that triangle will ever become a reality. Many churches do this. They put the pressure of this triangle on the pastor or the lay leader or their aunt who has always been in the church. But the reality is, friend, that YOU connect those lines. Each and every one of us is called to connect these together. United, we are far stronger than if one member of the team is carrying us. What truly connects these components of a healthy church is service. In order to thrive and to pursue the mission of Christ, we all have to serve.

How do we all fit in? Well, that’s why you will find at the end of this blog an attached file. It is a brief spiritual gifts inventory. There are a huge multitude of gifts, but this is a fine place to begin. Pursue your gifts. See where God is leading you. But don’t take the survey and shrug your shoulders and find it “interesting.” Go out and complete the triangle. Serve and pursue the mission of Christ.

o