God Still Sings
A homily preached by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli at St. Matthew’s UMC on September 11, 2011, the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the occasion of the congregation’s Fall Kick-Off Celebration of Ministries AND the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9-11-01.
Texts: Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35
Today we give thanks and celebrate that God’s Spirit empowers us for the work of ministry—that through the gifts and skills of this congregation we are able to witness to one another and to the world that Christ’s love is alive and well and that God’s grace is powerful and transforming. One of the themes that I have been returning to in my reflections with you this past year is that, together, we are the Body of Christ, that each one of us has an important role to play as members of the Body, that we are all ministers, commissioned and graced by God to be ourselves and to offer ourselves to others in love and care. All the ministries we have lifted up today, ministries that depend upon your leadership and gifts, are part of the one Body of Christ, none more important than the other, but each and every ministry having a role to play in the health and strength of the whole. The variety of ministries represented in our chancel this morning is just the beginning, for ministries of healing, support, friendship, justice, mercy, kindness, and reconciliation flow from this sanctuary into your daily lives, taking shape through the ways that you live with family, friends, and as citizens of the world…
Another thing I want us to claim and understand is that our intentional participation in Christian community, the Church, is our opportunity to practice the teachings and to attempt to embody the example of Jesus Christ. We get to practice with one another. And, let’s face it: we need practice. To live as Christ in the world is not easy. To love, to serve, to give, to have patience, to stand up for the oppressed, to forgive…these things take practice. And we know that when we practice anything, we don’t always get it right the first or even the seventieth time. But to keep at it is our call, to strive for Christ’s way of living and loving is our call, to acknowledge that we are accountable for how we use or withhold our gifts, that we are accountable for how we treat one another, for whether we respect others, for whether we forgive as we have been forgiven…this is our call and our challenge. And in the community of the Church we are given a place to practice—and, we really do need practice if we intend to take Jesus seriously and actually try to live according to his Way.
A friend of mine shared a blog post this past week that reported the results of the blogger’s informal poll among Christians in his community on the issue of Biblical interpretation. What the blogger discovered is that most Christians he spoke with took some things in the Bible literally and others as metaphor. This may not surprise you; however, the blogger was a little confused. He found that things like Jonah being swallowed by a large fish tended to be taken literally while Jesus’ teaching to love enemies was considered a metaphor; that the world was created in seven days (with the sun not making an appearance until the 4th) tended to be taken literally while Jesus’ teaching to not seek vengeance was considered a metaphor; that more than 300 million different species of creatures were passengers aboard one big boat tended to be taken literally while the teaching of Jesus to bless those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you was considered more a metaphor, a nice idea, a good suggestion.#
I’m going to go out on a limb this morning and suggest that Jesus’ teachings are more than a suggestion. We need to wrestle and study and work with the teachings (again, something we do together in Christian community). But one way or another, we need to figure out how to apply them. On this tragic anniversary and in the wake of all that has happened over the past ten years (wars upon wars, Guantanamo, profiling, and more) the teachings of Jesus about mercy and forgiveness may resound with even greater challenge than ever. Yet, I believe we all know that the call to follow Jesus’ way is our call as Christians.
I was struck by the title and lyrics of our choir’s opening anthem this morning–“Jesus, God’s own song on earth, song of pardon, hope, rebirth. Christ who rose gives life new wings! Easter people, God still sings!# Once upon a time, Jesus of Nazareth was God’s song on earth. AND in the world TODAY, God’s song is ours to sing, God’s way is ours to live, for we are the Body of Christ in the world. God’s song is heard in the world when we treat Jesus’ teachings as more than metaphor and truly follow Christ.
“Following the tragic Amish school shooting of 10 young schoolgirls in a one-room Amish school in October 2006, reporters from throughout the world invaded Lancaster County, PA to cover the story. However, in the hours and days following the shooting…an unexpected story developed. In the midst of their grief over this shocking loss, the Amish community didn’t cast blame, they didn’t point fingers, they didn’t hold a press conference with attorneys at their sides. Instead, they reached out with grace and compassion toward the killer’s family. The afternoon of the shooting an Amish grandfather of one of the girls who was killed expressed forgiveness toward the killer, Charles Roberts. That same day Amish neighbors visited the Roberts family to comfort them in their sorrow and pain. Later that week the Roberts family was invited to the funeral of one of the Amish girls who had been killed. And Amish mourners outnumbered the non-Amish at Charles Roberts’ funeral. It’s ironic that the killer was tormented for nine years by the pre-mature death of his young daughter. He never forgave God for her death. Yet, after he cold-bloodedly shot 10 innocent Amish school girls, the Amish almost immediately forgave him and showed compassion toward his family. In a world at war and in a society that often points fingers and blames others, this reaction was unheard of. Many reporters and interested followers of the story asked, “How could they forgive such a terrible, unprovoked act of violence against innocent lives?” [The answer? God Still Sings!] The Amish culture closely follows the teachings of Jesus, who taught his followers to forgive one another, to place the needs of others before themselves, and to rest in the knowledge that God is still in control and can bring good out of any situation. Love and compassion toward others is to be life’s theme. Vengeance and revenge is to be left to God.”#
The witness of this little Christian community resonated throughout the earth—for “There,” folks said, “is the love and power of Christ alive and real in the world.” God still sings! And the song is a message of pardon, hope, and rebirth. May God sing in your heart, through your life, and through our shared ministry as the Body of Christ that is St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church—so that our lives emanate the love and power of Christ in such a way that it is felt not just here but around the world. Amen.
