Those were the words of wisdom from my "boss" or Bishop in preparation for my first Sunday in the pulpit of Ridge UMC. So, for those who missed that Sunday I thought I would include the manuscript of my first sermon at Ridge. You can determine if I was bright, brief, and 'gone'.
(In future weeks we will finish our work on uploading audio of sermons at Ridge. So stay tuned to that website for more details. www.ridgeumc.org )
Ridge
United Methodist Church
Reverend
Michelle L. Knight
Sunday July
12, 2015 10:00am
“Together
in Christ”
Ephesians
1:3-14
I want to share my appreciation for the warm
welcome by the planning committee (for today and today’s luncheon), the SPRC,
Pastor Steve, the staff, and each of you.
My family and I are glad and grateful to be here. We do miss our friends
and family. Our Calvary UMC family was
good to us and thus we are sad about our goodbyes, but we are also glad to get
to know you, explore Northwest Indiana for the first time, and grow with you in
the knowledge, grace and love of Jesus.
Let us pray… Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts
of your faithful. Bring your fiery
presence to stoke our passion and compassion for you, one another and our
world. Come, Spirit of God, come.
Amen.
Have you ever heard a small child describe fireworks
for the first time? Do you remember the
last time you listened to a teenager gush about how they just met an amazing,
dazzling new friend and this teen is in awe of how much she/he connected to
this former stranger? Have you ever
watched the face and listened to the voice of someone you love… light up with
passion as they talk about their favorite hobby, their best game, or their most
awe-inspiring experience with nature?
If you have experienced one or all of these
moments… then you can imagine Paul’s energy as he wrote his letter to the Ephesians. Light in his eyes, his heart racing, and
passion in his choice of words! He
almost does not know how to express his sense of blessedness so he runs on and
on and on. If you and I could read the
original Greek we would know that these verses are one long single
sentence! Paul in his enthusiasm forgot
to put a period or a coma or anything! Like
stepping into a busy, babbling brook; you and I can enter into Paul’s ancient
thoughts as he gushes and rushes past us proclaiming how laddened we are with a
bounty of blessings. And so he begins
this letter unlike any of this other letters.
There are no personal greeting for so and so, but he poetically writes
praise about the cosmic magnitude of our salvation from God through Jesus.
I can personally connect with Paul’s enthusiasm
and joy. My call to ministry was
fostered and developed from a heart of gratitude. I was baptized as a child, raised within a
church family, confirmed as a young person… and if I would let you read my
journals, which I won’t, but if I did… you would find an entry from when I was
eleven in which I pondered a call to ministry.
In this way, I personally can connect with the Old Testament prophet
Jeremiah who was called by God when he was a young person.
I thought more seriously about a call into
ordained ministry when I was in college at the University of Evansville
studying to become a music therapist. I
majored in orchestral percussion and minored in piano. I presumed, at the time, that the combined
gifts of music and helping other persons heal would satisfy this calling on my
heart. Clearly, God had other
plans…because my heart was not satisfied, nor at “home”… my heart rather was
too overwhelmed with joy, wonder, passion and enthusiasm like Paul.
Finally, one night in my dorm room; God, Jesus,
the Holy Spirit and I had a personnel meeting.
This come-to-Jesus-meeting was WITH Jesus- if you get my drift! I said, “I will go where you want me to go,
Lord. I will be want you want me to
be. If I am to be a music therapist who
is a very involved volunteer in her local church that is me. If I am to be an ordained pastor serving a
congregation, then (gulp) that is me.
Whatever it is… I am simply too grateful and overwhelmed by your love, O
God, to not offer myself and my life as my small gift of thanks.” By now… after seminary, ordination, and
eighteen years of service to congregations in Indiana- you have figured out how
that personnel conversation ended!
Some prophets of God are called and they run away
from God (see Jonah). Other folks have blinding lights shine in their eyes while
traveling on Damascus Roads (see Paul).
Me- it was out of love and with love… that my call to ministry was
seeded, nurtured, strengthened, and answered.
And I am still responding to that call out of, with, because of, and to—love.
My purpose in sharing part of my call to ministry
story is… quite obvious… I want you to know a little something of how I tick
and got this ‘gig’. But more than just a
get-to-know-the-pastor-moment, responding to God’s love with our lives brimmed
over with joy, wonder, enthusiasm,
and passion is at the center of our message this morning.
Why is Paul so enthused? What is this blessing business about anyway?
Why is it such a big deal?
The big deal is, well, that God has this
amazingly wonderful, outstandingly gracious long-range strategic plan. And not only is it wonderful that God is in
charge, but also the plan God has is wonderful.
Moreover, it also just so happens that you and I are part of this long
range strategic plan. We are all are.
One aspect of God’s long range plan is that we
receive gifts from God! God gives us through
Jesus mercy, grace and forgiveness so that we are no longer held back by our
pain, shame, fear, and sin. We can live
freely. But, wait, there is more. God gives us through the Spirit wisdom and
understanding so that our little minds and hearts can begin to fathom… just how
much we are loved! And we are loved by an unending abundance of unconditional,
personal love. God is love, after
all. Bible does indeed say that, rather
consistently, I might add.
Within God’s plan is finally our purpose. This is also very exciting. You may be looking for your purpose. Or you may be frustrated with all that
prevents you from living your purpose. God’s
love in Jesus overcomes all the stuff, junk, and the mess that people do against
other people which get in the way of OUR purpose.
Reality is that when we discover just how much we
are loved by God, we begin to live into the fullest and best versions of our selves. As we live into being who God designed us to
be we experience our purpose. This is as
much a group purpose as an individual purpose at the same time. This form of togetherness is not sameness
equaling closeness. Nor is it difference
in unity. Rather our purpose is more compelling
and deeply satisfying than either of those.
Our purpose is to praise God. Together in Christ, we praise our God with
the enthusiasm of a young child watching fireworks, the joy of a teen making a
new best friend, and with the wonder of witnessing the splendor of the Grand
Canyon or the mountains or the ocean.
You know that shepherd needs sheep to tend. A coach needs athletes to coach. A maestro needs musicians to conduct. Well, the same is true for a pastor. She needs a flock to tend, love, and
lead. Long ago, two years actually, before
you as a congregation knew that you would be receiving a new pastor, God in
God’s loving, long range planning and purpose… laid on my heart a calling to
leave where I have served. I have been
praying and waiting for you long before I knew you were the people, and long
before you knew you would need a new pastoral leader.
But notice how God knew.
And pay attention to how God acted… and God
whispered in my ear, Jesus enlarged my heart and The Spirit opened my vision. God equipped my husband and family to begin
to consider a dramatic change in our lives.
God worked, even through our Bishop and cabinet, to send me to you and
you to me. God graciously prepared you
as a people to receive our family. I
think all that planning, preparing, coordinating, and inner working of God
through the threads of our lives… is worthy of a thank you. Worthy of praise. Worthy of a song. Worthy of a people together in Christ-
saying, “WOW- God you did good! Alleluia
and Amen!”
