Sunday, January 27, 2013

Sermon, "Like a Hand in a Glove", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Suncook United Methodist Church, January 27, 2013


January 27, 2013
Third Sunday after Epiphany
Worship Theme: The People of God Unite
Call to Worship: Psalm 27:1, 4-5 &13-14 NIV Bible
Nehemiah 8:1-3 CEB
1 Corinthians 12:21-31a CEB
Luke 4:14-21 CEB
“Like a Hand in a Glove”

A reading from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verses 14-21; listen to the word of God for you and me, the people of God.

This past Friday we watched the Chronicles of Narnia for our Final Friday Movie Night. It is one of my favorite movies because of how it reminds me of the story of Jesus and how He came to save humanity and that in ordered to do so; He died so that humanity could live. One of the characters in the movie is called Edmund. Now Edmund was the third born of the children that went to Narnia. He seemed to be the kind of kid that was kind of stuck in the middle. He wasn’t the oldest like his brother Peter and he wasn’t the youngest as his sister Lucy was. He always seemed to make the wrong choices. He seemed to want to be recognized as “a vital person” but he seemed to go about it in the wrong way. In the end Edmund did get it right though.

I have seen this attitude played out in society today. . . everyone on wants to stand out, to shine brighter than the rest. Unfortunately humanity is praised when they do stand out and are kind of “put on the back burner” when they don’t. It seems as if people are more important when they “stand out in a crowd” and those who may actually do more work “behind the scenes” are put aside as being not as important. Even within the church this same attitude is played out. Pastor’s that think the church can’t run without them, people thinking that their gifts from God are more important than others gifts, the list just goes on. I’ll tell you one thing, if it weren’t for the laity within this church, the church wouldn’t run. It is the laity that makes a church run smoothly, not the pastor. . . they are indispensable, but don’t tell anyone I said that. . .

There are many scriptures within the bible that tell us that this type of attitude, this type of pride or “puffed-upness” has no place within the church. As a matter of fact we as Christians shouldn’t be following society’s example of “top dog” at all in our lives. We, as Christ’s Church. . . as Christians, should be living a life of unity. . . of oneness with each other. We should fit together, go together, like a hand in a glove. Unfortunately that isn’t always the case. The scriptures from this morning tell us. . . gives us a glimpse of. . . how Disciples of Christ should act.

The Nehemiah scripture tells us that they were gathered together. Now it didn’t say that all the men got together and had a men’s group meeting and had a guest speaker, it didn’t say all the women got together and had sewing circle and listened to a speaker, it didn’t even say that only those who could read and write got together. . . it tells us that the assembly was made up of everyone, men, women, teens, children. . . everyone and anyone who could understand what they heard. Now I am sure that many did understand because they heard the stories of their people’s faith from family members. The Law. . . or Torah as they call it. . . was handed down from generation to generation as a story. Within the society of God, all are equal. There is none better than the other. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. . .

The Luke passage was the first talk of inclusiveness within the church. Jesus came to preach the good news to the poor. . . now we are not just talking monetarily, the down trodden, the marginalized. . . Jesus came to release the prisoners, give sight to the blind, free the oppressed. Now that was something that was totally radical. God want even the “Gentiles” to be included in His Kingdom. Jesus didn’t come for those in the temple but came for people like you and me, the outcasts that are now friends and family. We are covered, like a hand in a glove, by the amazing grace of God. . . grafted in and included in the family of God. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. . . I once was lost but no I’m found was blind but now I see. . . Thank you Jesus!

Then we have the 1st Corinthians from this morning. I love that letter of Paul. . . it would make a great Summer Sermon Series. . . spoiler alert. . .  This scripture says it all. We are all different but are so vital to each other. Without each other there would be no church. . . there would be no body of Christ. If we were called the Eye of Christ we would just be seeing the world but would have no feet to go out into the world. . . how beautiful the feet that bring the good news of Christ. God has put the body of Christ together for a reason. Even though it may seem dysfunctional at times, in the end. . . at the core of it. . . it fits like a hand in a glove. Everyone. . . all of creation has Sacred Worth. . . all has a right to be a vital part of the Kingdom of God through the blood of Christ Jesus. How can Christ’s church say otherwise?

Perhaps we as the Body of Christ need to rethink our own roles in the church. Maybe we need to take inventory of our own thoughts and feelings. There just may be a place where we can tweak our attitudes just a little bit. Maybe. . . just maybe we can get back to where we should be, being the hands and feet of Christ gloved and shod by the covering of grace.

Amen

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January 27, 2013
Luke 4:14-21 (Common English Bible)
Nehemiah 8:1-3 (Common English Bible)
1 Corinthians 12:21-31a (Common English Bible)
Psalm 27
Worship Theme: The People of God Unite
Call to Worship (Psalm 27:1, 4-5, & 13-14 NIV Bible)
Unison Prayer
Prayer of Dedication (GBOD © 2013 Psalm 27)
and sermon – “Like a Hand in a Glove”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
A Handmaiden of the Lord
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
January 27, 2013
Third Sunday after Epiphany


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 21,990+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

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