Annual Meeting 2017 Sermon on the Church’s Mission

With apologies for posting it a week late, here’s the sermon from Sunday, January 29, 2017, at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Greene, Iowa. 

This Sunday, we had one joint worship service (rather than our usual three weekend services) followed by the congregation’s annual meeting.

Today’s readings for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany in Year A are from Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, and Matthew 5:1-12.

Today’s readings are great for annual meeting Sunday. Last week, we heard about Jesus gathering ordinary, working people and calling them to follow him and be his disciples.

This week, we learn what it looks like to follow Jesus as disciples, as ordinary people gathered to be the church. All three of today’s readings are mission statements for us as the church.

We’ll start with the Old Testament reading from Micah 6:1-8. This passage reads like a court case. Before this, God has been laying out the case against Israel.

The people have been unfaithful, hating good and loving evil. The rulers have taken bribes, they’ve lied, cheated, and oppressed the poor and powerless, and all the while, they’ve justified it by saying it’s ok because they’re the chosen people and God is on their side.

All they need to do is make a sacrifice, ask for forgiveness, and everything’s forgiven. It’s cheap grace. As long as they keep sacrificing every so often, they can do whatever they want. It’s the same trap we sometimes fall into. They think they can bribe God by giving offerings.

Now, let me be clear. Giving offering to the church is important. That’s good to say before we discuss the budget at the annual meeting, right? In fact, I think the act of giving in worship is important enough that we should be passing an offering plate around at every worship service, not just having it sitting in the back of the room.

As Christians, we need to be generous, giving people. As a church, we need to provide lots and lots of opportunities for people to give and serve. Living a Christian life always involves giving.

But sometimes, we fall into the trap of thinking that if we give enough money, then God will be happy with us. We hope giving enough on Sunday morning, showing up to worship, that makes up for whatever else we do during the week.

But that’s not how it works. It’s not about giving more money and bribing God; it’s about changing your life. God doesn’t need more money from you; God wants your whole life.

So, after laying out the case against them, Micah spends a few verses reminding Israel what God has done for them. God has brought them out of their slavery in Egypt, established their kingdom, and protected them from their enemies. Their freedom and prosperity is thanks to God. God has been faithful.

Then in verses 6 and 7, the people respond. Note that they don’t dispute God’s case, or claim to be innocent. Instead, they ask what to do now. What’s the fine? What do they need to do to get God off their backs? More donations? Volunteer more? Join a committee?

Be a missionary? Maybe give a bunch of burnt offerings, like thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil. Still not enough? What about if I give up my firstborn child? What do I need to sacrifice? What will make you happy, God?

And then Micah the prophet responds, speaking for God. The last verse is the whole point of this court case. More sacrifices aren’t the point. “He has told you, O mortal, what is good. What does the Lord require of you? Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”

This isn’t just business as usual; it’s a life change. These aren’t tasks to mark off a list. You can’t just do something just once or twice and congratulate yourself. Doing justice and loving kindness is a way of life, not something you can complete.

Maybe a weird comparison, but it’s a little like dieting. I’ve been trying to eat better recently (yes, it’s sort of a New Year’s resolution), and some days I congratulate myself for making a good choice. I went out to eat the other day and got water instead of soda. Later, I thought, “Good for me! I made a good choice today.” Then I rewarded myself with ice cream. That’s not how you get healthier! You can’t just do something once or twice and have it be enough.

God’s not keeping score of whether you’ve given enough or done enough to satisfy some requirement.
If God kept that kind of score, we’d all fail. Instead, as forgiven people children of God, we’re called to live a faithful life, a life of seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. That’s our mission as church.

Next, let’s turn to the Gospel reading in Matthew 5:1-12, where Jesus talks about what it means to be blessed.

What do you think of when you hear someone say they’re blessed? Often, blessing gets mixed up with happiness. People often post pictures on Facebook or Instagram of how great their life is, how they have a great family, or spouse, or job. Then they caption the picture with hashtag #Blessed. Saying you’re blessed turns into a way of saying look how great my life is, a way to brag a little while giving God the credit.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with thanking God when your life is going great. But happiness is a shallow definition of what it means to be blessed.

Here in the sermon on the mount, Jesus lists a bunch of not-very-happy groups and calls them blessed. No one posts pictures of being poor in spirit, or meek, or mourning, or thirsting for righteousness and tags it blessed. That doesn’t fit our image of God’s blessing.

But God’s blessing isn’t about mere happiness, or about having more stuff; it’s about life. It’s about living a life that matters, living life recognizing what God has done for you. It’s about giving and sacrificing, living humbly, kindly, and justly because you understand God loves you.

Jesus is not laying out conditions here to be met so you can be blessed. You don’t need to start mourning for God to bless you; you don’t need to find someone to persecute you. You are already blessed.

After Jesus calls his disciples to follow him, the first thing he teaches them is to recognize God’s blessing, and he does it by listing groups of people in situations where it’s hard to see God’s blessing.

When you’re going through tough times, Jesus says, you are blessed. When you’re sitting in a hospital room, you are blessed. When you hear your job is at risk, you are blessed. When you flunk a test at school, you are blessed. Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the persecuted.

Blessed are the refugees. Blessed are those fighting against terror. Blessed are those fighting for justice. Blessed are you, because of God, not because of what’s happening or what you’ve done.

Our congregation is blessed, but not just because we have a great building and money in the bank. We’re blessed because God is at work among us. Everything we do as church is about sharing God’s blessing with each other, with our neighbors and our world.

Finally, there’s this reading from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. Here, Paul lays out the core of our message when he says, “We proclaim Christ crucified.”

It might not be what the world thinks is wise; it might even seem foolish to us sometimes. How can Christians choose love for our enemies when it puts us at risk? How can we share our hard-earned resources and time with others? Why care about anyone besides ourselves? What kind of crazy, foolish plan is it for God to save an unfaithful world by personally coming and dying for it?

God chooses what is weak in the world. God’s power isn’t in an army, or a conquering nation. God’s power is in what looks like weakness, a beaten-up Jewish guy hanging on a cross, dying. God’s power is in normal, everyday people who are willing to step out in faith and follow.

Our security isn’t in how strong we are, or how wealthy, but in Christ. God’s power shines through us when we work for justice for all, when we love our neighbors, when we proclaim Christ crucified.

May everything we do as followers of Jesus and as a church reflect God’s foolish, ridiculous love for the world. That’s our mission.
Amen.