Hopeful, Patient and Faithful

Readings: Psalms 105:1-6, 23-26, Exodus 3:1-15, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:9-21
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, on August 31, 2014

A printable PDF file can be found here

Preaching ones final service as pastor of a particular congregation is never an easy assignment.  You are aware that whatever you say, the emotions of the moment may well swallow it up. There is so much that you wanted to say, that you should have said and could have said, but time has overtaken you and it's time to let it go.

On these occasions I'm always thankful for the lectionary, that weekly set of readings that many denominations follow. For if ever there was a chapter that seems fitting for an occasion like now it is today's suggested reading of Romans 12:9-21. This passage offers so much excellent advice for a church that is going through a time of transition. In some translations the whole paragraph is given the heading “Love”.

Be sincere in your loving. Be devoted to one another. Don't give up. Practice hospitality. Welcome all people regardless of social standing or culture. Live in harmony. Honor one another above yourselves. Shame those who oppose you by caring for them. Overcome evil with good. You could preach a sermon on any one of those!

But the verse that drew me back to itself was verse 12. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Those 3 qualities, being hopeful, patient and faithful, are just the sort of ingredients a congregation should aspire to whilst they seek a way forward for the future.

Hopeful “Be joyful in hope”

When we are suddenly placed in a situation of unexpected change the word 'joy' is not what immediately springs to mind. The one exception may be if you have won the lottery, but right now that's not what you are faced with. 'Joy' at your pastors departure may seem to be an inappropriate thing to suggest you should pursue!

So notice that this verse suggests that our joyfulness be linked to 'hope'. Hope not in what is passed, but hope in what changing circumstances can offer for the future. In his letter to the Philippian Church, Paul writes “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14).

You would think that an accomplished pastor like Paul would be lifting up his achievements as an example for his flock to follow. Not so. He speaks of what had yet to be done and of how it was all simply a prelude to the glory that was in store for his life through his relationship with Jesus Christ. That's the hope he encourages us set our thoughts on. “The prize of the upward call of God in Christ-Jesus”. That is what he suggests should keep us joyful.

That we realize that this particular time we travel through, is not the defining moment of our spiritual journey. That there is a goal. That there is a prize. So don't lose sight of the goal or of the prize. It has been said that whenever God closes one door, it is because there is opening up another door that offers a fresh opportunity. Such moments are always a huge challenge!

The challenge of doing ministry in Nassau County should not be underestimated. Demographics keep shifting. It is hard for faith communities to deal with the economic realities. There are not huge crowds of folk itching to sample what mainline denominations such as the PC(USA) have to offer. It's hard for us to keep our own memberships onboard.

The time is right for exploring new ways of doing ministry. That's something that has taken place during my time with you. Sharing with other Presbyterian churches in confirmation and youth work  enabled good things to happen. Youth retreats. Mission trips, like the recent one to Honduras. Adult bible studies and retreats. Things were accomplished together that we couldn't have done alone. It could be that the time is right for exploring closer permanent relationships with other congregations, maybe the sharing of a pastor or of administrative staff. That's for you to explore.

But as you do so, try to do so joyfully and hopefully. See these things, not as setbacks or compromises, but creative ways to embrace the immediate future whilst keeping your faith focused on the fact that the story neither began, nor will end with you but with 'The prize of the upward call of God in Christ-Jesus'. Be joyful in hope.

Patient “Be patient in affliction”

The Presbyterian process will certainly stretch your patience. The positive side of our system of government is that we don't have folk telling congregations who their next pastor will be. The negative side of it is that choosing the next pastor is not an easy process, either on the part of the Presbytery, the local church or any potential future pastor. I would not go as far as describing it as an 'affliction' but it is kind of quirky!

So I encourage you to be patient, to actually trust the process, and not be afraid to ask questions as things proceed in what can seem to be a laborious endeavor. The process worked in getting me to be here...so it does function, despite our misgivings.

Bear in mind that when Paul writes “Be patient in affliction” the kind of afflictions he was talking about make our complaints seem petty and inconsequential. His afflictions were things like beatings and imprisonment, the constant stress of not knowing where life may be headed next and the ever present possibility of martyrdom.

Our gospel reading for today has Jesus explaining to His closest followers, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25)

I find the second part of that verse particularly challenging. We have a tendency, both as individuals and church communities, to feel that our calling is to hold on to what we have, to maintain it, as it is, at all costs. Thus our church agendas become focused upon maintenance rather than mission. Now here is Jesus telling us that if we really want to find life, then we have to be prepared to lose it all.

How do we embrace such a 'risk-taking' philosophy? Surely it has to do with that central symbol of our faith, the cross. The cross speaks of sacrifice and service, of the laying down of ones life for others.  That's not easy. Indeed whoever said that following Jesus was meant to be easy? When we consider the persecution that some of our brothers and sisters are right now facing in other lands it should cause us to view our commitment in a different framework. Our afflictions seem rather shallow and small by comparison.

We are blessed. We are free. I am not sure in our culture that we truly grasp the full implications of taking up a Cross and following our Lord. I say that, not to shame us, but rather to frame the current circumstances within a bigger picture. So be patient. Be patient with your church. Be patient with your Presbytery. Be patient with each other. Be patient with the process. Be patient with yourself.

Faithful “Be faithful in prayer.”

Nowhere in Scripture are we called to be successful. Constantly we are called to be faithful. Oftentimes the people of God fail to live like the people of God. We sing “Amazing grace, that saved a wretch like me”... to acknowledge that we have a tendency to mess things up rather than put them in order.

This scripture calls us to be faithful in prayer. Prayer is both a corporate and an individual activity. Throughout scripture the people of God are called to come together in prayer. They are also encouraged to find their own private prayer place where they can commune with God. It is not an 'either/or' but a 'both/and' situation. Be faithful in prayer.

For the entire time I have been here (and it was a statement in place long before I came here) it has been printed on the rear of your bulletins, “Ministers: All the people of the Church”. That's the kind of statement that a congregation has to live into, rather than a statement of what tends to actually happen. The reality is that often the work of a church weighs heavily on a few (so heavily that it can burn them out), they employ folk to do many things but many members don't think of themselves as ministers at all.

In this new reality into which we are transitioning, like it or not, it will be those congregations who take seriously that statement; “Ministers: All the people of the Church” that survive and thrive. Already in many lands the idea that a church has to have a full-time professional minister, and a choir director and a secretary is not the reality. In some countries where the church is growing, they don't have enough full-time ministers to go around! They are happy when one comes through town, and they are flexible enough to arrange their communions and baptisms and memberships to coincide with such visits, but the rest of the time they take care of the Kingdom business... and they are growing.

In other lands where the church is in severe decline, and I think of my past experience in Wales, the churches that are surviving best, are those where there is a commitment... not to obtaining a paid professional to take care of things, but a commitment to prayer and service and witness on the part of the people in the pews. When they can find ministers to come, or to share with other congregations, that's great, but they do not sit back and pin all their hopes on getting the right person. They recognize that they are the right people, they are the people God has called to minister, they are building the  Kingdom, prayerfully and faithfully together. They pin their hopes on God and what God can do through them. I would suggest to you that moving from a 'paid staff driven' model to a 'person in the pew – all the people in the church – style of ministry' is just the kind of radical change that needs to happen within many of our congregations if they are to survive.

For such to happen requires faithfulness in prayer. It requires every person seeking a deeper and closer relationship with God. It requires being faithful in worship and service. It takes the sort of commitment Jesus was talking about when He speaks of losing our lives in order to truly find them.
So I leave you with Paul's words “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” 

I have greatly enjoyed serving this congregation. You have been a blessing to Yvonne and myself. Life circumstances change. Opportunities present themselves. Transitions come along. It's time for us to move on. And it's time for the church here to move on into something new.

Of course it won't be the same. How tedious that would be, if life were always the same? It will be something new. An undiscovered country. Blessings as yet unrevealed. Pursue it with all your hearts, be hopeful, patient and faithful, and, as I've heard Bill Farren often say from this pulpit, 'You'll be glad that you did!”

To God's name be the glory. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.