Monday, August 27, 2018

Holding the Christ Light

Ephesians 6: 1-20
Finally!  The passage for our reflection today begins with finally!  “Finally” Paul says, “put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  In fact, twice he deplores the new Christians to put on the whole armor of God.  He must know all too well that living as Christians will not be easy and so he ‘kicks it up a notch’ in this concluding chapter of Ephesians that we have used for reflection these last few weeks.

In his summation of the letter, Paul resorts to using militaristic language and images to bring home his point.  He employs language that reflects to his readers an overarching reminder that they are living under the menacing Roman Empire, which wasn’t very nice and downright barbaric at times with all those crucifixions.  It is likely that they would see Roman soldiers, dressed in their regalia of armor on a daily basis roaming the streets, guarding public places, dining in local eateries.  So he draws from his local context through which people can relate. 

The unusual twist that Paul makes is that he demilitarizes the parts of the armor, the belt, the breastplate, the shield, the helmet and assigns to them good and decent values: truth, righteousness and faith because God embodies justice, peace and life.   Let us now hear the words of the 6th chapter of Ephesians….

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  

Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.  As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.  With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.  Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

These are good words for congregations, good words to live by, and good words to aspire to always, no matter where you are in congregational life.  Good words for pastors too!

I’m not going to talk too much about that scripture today because you and I are at a liminal moment in our lives as pastor and congregation, that is we are at the threshold. And I want to acknowledge that.  It is a space where we are neither here nor there, but we are in a transition.  Like crossing from one room to the next there is this space where you are in both rooms at once and neither room.  It is a space that is pregnant with possibility; of letting go of the past, and engaging fully the future.  WE are in a liminal space today.

I came here as your interim minister in a snowy January of 2013 and then, on a beautiful autumnal day in September of 2014; I became your Sr. Redevelopment Pastor.  Although we did a whole lot of redevelopment, between you and me, I really did feel more as if I were your settled pastor.  You welcomed me into your lives, held me accountable when I needed it (as I did you!!!) and our roots grew deep in mutual honor and respect, love and grace.

But yet, interim and redevelopment ministry has a beginning and an end.  It is finite.  It is hoped that the work in between is fruitful, revitalizing, spiritually energizing and that it would be a period of growth.  I believe that we have achieved all that and much more.  And so, my work really is done! 

There is a wonderful children’s movie called ‘Nanny McPhee’.  It’s about a nanny who comes to take care of a slew of horrid little children. Nanny herself, had warts on her face, was very unkempt looking at the beginning and was overly strict to the point of being downright mean.  Now don’t make the connection that you were horrid children.  You were not!  And don’t go thinking that I had warts.  I did not (or not many!) 

So as the movie progresses the children become well behaved and each time they do something nice, or begin to be good little children, a wart magically disappears off of Nanny’s face. 

Throughout the movie there is something beautiful that happens to all of them.  With patience, understanding, searching, and a whole lot of love they become beautiful together.  The transformation is magnificent.  The children are good and Nanny is presentable without warts.  Of course, when this happens, then it is time for Nanny to take her leave.

But the best line in the movie is one that Nanny utters when she comes to live with the family, she say’s,  “When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay.  When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go.”

You no longer need me, so I have to go.  There are so many plusses to my specialized ministry, but saying goodbye is not one of them.  However that’s what we will do today because you no longer need the type of ministry that I can provide for you.  What I’ve realized about myself as a pastor is that I’m a sprinter, not a marathon runner in ministry.  Tod was a marathon runner.

We’ve done some fine work together over these 5 and a half years.  We’ve weathered some significant storms literally, and we’ve laughed, cried, prayed, worshipped, married, buried, studied, sang, and ate together.  My goals, when I came here, were to calm everyone down and to steady a shaky boat when Tod left.  You were pretty anxious whether you know it or not.  I sought to lead you through a process of discovery and unearth you from pretty some fairly stagnant waters. 

I endeavored to instill hope, and to help you envision a path to your future.  I prayed to love you as a congregation of dedicated people who try very hard to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I prayed hard to just love you, which I’ve come to do.

We have so much to be thankful to God for as a pastor and congregation.  Blessing upon blessing God has given us the ability to forge ahead with confidence in these years.  I am proud that you have become Open and Affirming, I am proud that you have developed a sense for a strong faith formation mission, I am proud that you have redeveloped your governance to suit the needs of the people in this ever changing landscape of ministry.  You’ve done significant work!  Good on you! 

You are not the same congregation that I addressed from in this pulpit in 2013, far from it.  You are lighter, you are fun loving, you are much more mission minded and gospel focused.  Remember always that the Lord is YOUR shepherd and you’ll do just fine.  I thank God and give God all of the glory for who you are as God’s beloved.

And I thank God for your care and concern, for your reception of my ministry and my family.  I thank God for my children and their spouses, John and Danielle, Dan and Laura, Tina and Andy and my beloved little grandson Beau.  And, of course for my brother Richard and his wife Susan.  Thank you for putting up with my crazy schedules and for sometimes having to take a back seat to my work.  Forgive me. 

And I thank my ministry team for their friendship and dedication, a talented staff to work alongside of.  Esther, Bryan, Susan, Stacey, Ron, Nancy, Laura and newbie Victoria. I thank you.    

But you no longer need me, I recognize that.  And it’s not because I need to be needed, it’s because you are ready to launch! In fact you have launched.  You are some of the strongest lay leaders that I have encountered.  That’s the bittersweet nature of this type of ministry.  You are ready to embark on a new journey that will be exciting and fruitful with a new pastor in the pulpit, a different pastor who will bring his or her own experience, his or her own love of God, his or her unique call to ministry to bear here at Orange Congregational.  You are ready to embark upon ministry with a marathoner!!!    

And you see, that makes me really happy.  I feel, leaving here, that I have done my best to honor God and to be the pastor that you needed me to be at this time in the life of Orange Congregational.  We are severing our relationship on very good and gracious terms knowing that the best is yet to come for the both of us.

Be open to the endless and exciting possibilities of how you will move forward, God called you into existence in 1810 and God will safely see you into the future.  It is a marathon of grace, gratitude, love and forgiveness.

So I want to leave you with a charge, or maybe a couple-three to be exact-since this is the last time that I will address you as your pastor and in a position of authority under God.

The first charge I leave you is challenging but essential.  I charge you to always be about the work of Christ, that is why we are here and that is why men and women discern a call to ministry, because we want to be about the work and ministry of Christ.  It is for no other reason that the church exists.  We’re not a country club or a social service agency, or a hierarchical vessel to pour out our power hungry selves.  We are here solely to witness to the strength and salvation of God through Jesus Christ.  Please, always remember that, if you stray too far from that it will lead you onto rocky terrain.

Your second charge is to pray.  Pray often. Pray always.  Your new bridge pastor and future settled pastor are human and will, at times, need your prayers of support, your prayers of love, your prayers of compassion.  The demands of a congregation upon their pastor can be great.  Be gentle, be loving, be forgiving, be kind as I have experienced you to be. 

And your third charge is to be a beacon of hope in this community.  Our world needs hope, this community needs hope.  Not that we are in a bad way, but the demands of life are huge and people need a place of complete acceptance and unconditional love.  You can be that place for people, you can be that non-judgmental haven for people to experience God when the rest of the world is saying something else, when the rest of the world is condemning rather than commending.  Shun no one and let the community know it explicitly. 

I actually do have one more charge for you.  A fourth one, I lied.  A preacher’s got to preach when she’s got something to say!

Right before the sermon we sang one of my most beloved hymns.  “Won’t You Let Me Be Your Servant.”?  And yes all you naysayers it’s from the New Century Hymnal!!!  So many phrases, bring me to the point of tears, ‘let me be as Christ to you,’ ‘we are pilgrims on a journey, we are travelers on the road, we are here to help each other go the mile and bear the load,’

‘I will hold the Christ light for you in the shadow of your fear……...it’s that Christ light that keeps flaming up in my heart and mind.  The Christ light of unconditional love.  The Christ light of unquenchable justice.  The Christ light of forgiveness and sheer joy.  I will hold the Christ light for you as I embark on a new journey knowing that you are embarking on a journey too and holding the Christ light for me.   

My dear friends, I love you and will miss you.  A lot.  But I leave here knowing that I have lost my warts and you are the best that you can be.  Together we have honored and loved our Lord, Jesus Christ and that’s what it’s all about. 

Rejoice fully in the pastor to come who will be ready and willing to be here for the marathon, who will love you in all of life’s circumstances, and who loves God with all of his or her heart. 

And let all of the people say, Amen!

Rev. Suzanne Wagner


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