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United Church in the Valley: August 7, 2016
Student Minister: Matthew Heesing
“A God-Family Reunion!”
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4: 1-6, 11-16
As a prisoner for the Lord, then,
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and gentle;
be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit,
through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit,
just as there is one hope to which God has called you;
there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip his people for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity
in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants,
tossed back and forth by the waves,
and blown here and there by every wind of teaching
and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love,
we must grow up in every way to be like Christ, who is the head.
From him the whole body,
joined and held together by every supporting piece,
grows and builds itself up in love.
Sermon:
Did anyone have a family reunion this summer?
Does anyone have fond memories of a family reunion in the past?
Family reunions form some of my favourite memories:
From meeting long-lost family members in my Uncle Hubert’s backyard,
to gathering around my Grandma’s piano for an old-fashioned hymn-sing,
to camping in the woods with relatives from Germany,
to celebrating Christmas in a small Saskatchewan town.
But no matter where it was held, who it involved, or how long it lasted,
every family reunion had a few things in common:
There was always good food:
potlucks, picnics, or campfire cooking,
you could count on the classic staples:
orange carrot jello, chocolate cake,
rhubarb crisp, famous cookies, just to name a few.
All ages were gathered:
young, old, and young-at-heart,
recent members, elderly matriarchs,
brand-new babies, beautiful seniors,
and each generation in-between.
And every family reunion involved the favourite stories:
anecdotes,incidents, unforgettable memories.
The tales that get told over and over,
like my aunt dropping her keys in the outhouse,
or how my grandparents met,
or the time I fell face first in a fresh cow-pie.
“Remember when?” is a family reunion requirement.
We tell the stories of the past, together.
We remember, recollect, recreate, relive.
At the best of times, there’s laughter.
Almost always, reunions involve excitement and energy,
anticipation to attend, curiosity to reconnect:
delighted introductions, enthusiastic catching up.
“How have you been?”“Where have you been?”
“What have you been up to?
And the inevitable,
“My, how you’ve grown!”
Have you heard this before?
Maybe it’s been a while,but in my experience,
every time I’ve gone to a family reunion,
a once-in-a-while gathering,
I could always count on someone coming up to me
sizing me up, perhaps pinching my cheek,
proudly proclaiming,“My, how you’ve grown!”
Whether an older aunt,or a great uncle,
or that second-cousin you see once a decade,
someone would notice something different:
Maybe I’d grown taller, broader, bigger (maybe not),
maybe had a milestone, graduated, gotten married—
in one way or another, I’d changed and matured.
“My, how you’ve grown.”
God-family of Diamond Valley,
What ways have we grown, since we saw each other last?
This is a family reunion, after all:
the good food is waiting for us,
all ages are gathered,
we’ve heard a story from Scripture,
relived certain rituals, remembered words from the past.
We’ve been away, and now we’re back,
brimming with excitement,a buzz in the air,
ready to come in, come in and sit down,
to reconvene as a community of faith.
And at this—our God-family reunion—
I wonder what we’ll notice about one another?
What ways will we go, “My, how you’ve grown!”
Because a lot has happened
since the last time we were here.
For one, I’ve returned from summer school:
six weeks of intensive studying,
exploring subjects like United Church Worship,
Pastoral Care, and Theology and Culture.
I’ve been stretched, challenged, and supported,
exposed to new ideas, inspired by different colleagues,
ready to collaborate with you, the congregation.
Some of us—kids and parents—
have come back from Canyon Church camp.
A week in the wilderness, learning the creation story,
encountering the wonder of nature and God.
Others among us travelled many miles,
met former classmates at high school homecomings,
had a holiday at Koocanusa,spent time at Nipawin,
went to a wedding,renovated a cabin,
crossed borders,started retirement,
shared your first sermon,led a worship service,learnt a new skill,
Some of us moved away,
lost a loved one,struggled with illness, celebrated life,
Others attended a variety of churches,overcame challenges,
discovered something good.
“My, how we’ve grown!”
We’ve changed and matured,
been formed and refined,
we’ve been constantly shaped and stretched
by actions, events, circumstances and decisions.
We’ve grown as individuals,
and we’ve grown in other, wider ways as well.
In the wake of global tragedies, we’ve grown more scared:
unsettled from shootings in Orlando, Munich and New Orleans,
attacks in France, including Nice and Normandy,
We’ve grown numb to newsofconflict
in South Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen,
Bangladesh, Baghdad, and beyond.
But we’ve also grown in awareness:
in the last month, we’ve heard how black lives matter,
we’ve witnessed the violent reality of racism,
the impact of prejudice,
the pernicious power of gun culture,
we’ve viewed the pride and vulnerability of LGBTQ individuals.
We’ve grown in humility,
as we honored the 30th anniversary
of the United Church Apology to First Nations peoples:
recognizing our role in residential schools,
acknowledging attitudes of assimilation, discrimination and injustice.
We’ve grown in generosity,
reaching out to Fort McMurray,
preparing for a refugee family,
working at the food bank in July.
We’ve grown in love,
comforting those in our own community,
finding ways—both big and small—to stand in solidarity,
offer service and support,
to those struggling, suffering, silent and alone.
Truly, in the last couple months,
“My, how we’ve grown.”
And there’s so much growing still ahead:
this morning’s God-family reunion is only the start!
Beginning in September,
members of the board will be presenting remits
from the United Church of Canada’s General Council:
big decisions that will impact our denomination’s
structure, financing, ministry, training, and more.
Once a month, a team will take a little time after worship
to explain one specific remit,to hear your opinion,
and take it back to the board for the ultimate vote.
Also in September,is our first-ever Old-Time Family Dance:
a chance to be in the community,
fundraise for outreach,
and have an evening of fellowship, music, and fun.
Further on in the fall,
are some workshops on lay worship leadership:
how do you plan a service? Compose a prayer? Write a reflection?
What are some tips, necessities, and top-notch resources,
when it comes to leading worship, stepping up to do pulpit supply?
Not only that, we’ll hopefully initiate other events in the near future:
a movie night,a small group study,
Sunday School programming,
intergenerational activities,
Labyrinth meditation…or whatever else we may come up with!
My, how we’ve grown—
and my, how we will grow!
The possibilities are endless—
but what’s the point?
What’s the purpose, the aim, the intent of all this growing?
As we reunite as a God-family,
let’s remember the words we heard from Paul.
Sandi read us a passage from Ephesians, chapter 4,
where Paul calls the disciples to continually grow,
to “grow up in every way to be like Christ,
who is the head,” the model, the gold standard, our goal.
We must not be like “infants,” he exhorts,
“tossed back and forth by the waves,and blown here and there by every wind of teaching,
and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
Instead, Paul says,
“live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
A calling of discipleship:
to be God’s people in this time and place,
to follow Christ,
to feel the Spirit,
to find ourselves living a life of light and love.
“Be completely humble and gentle,” he continues,
“be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit,
through the bond of peace.”
Don’t stop growing, Paul insinuates;
don’t remain stagnant, static, stuck,
but instead, keep stretching—
be open, curious, equipped, engaged,
keep seeking works of service,
so that “the body of Christ may be built up
until we all reach unity in the faith
and in the knowledge of God’s son
and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
The “whole measure of the fullness of Christ”:
what that means, isalways going in the direction of the good,
being all that God intends us to be,
growing in God’s way,
together, as the body of Christ.
United, as a family of God.
That’s the goal of all this growing:
a unity with God,a unity as God’s people, as the church.
Paul says, “There is one body and one Spirit,
just as there is one hope to which God has called you;
there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all, and through all, and in all.”
In other words,
just as Christ is in God,
we are called to be in Christ,
to be like Christ,to be as Christ,
to be Christ’s body in the world.
And from Christ, Paul concludes,
“the whole body,
joined and held together by every supporting piece”—
every person, every perspective, every gift we have to offer—
“grows and builds itself up in love.”
Once separate, someday unified.
Once divided, someday united.
The whole body of Christ,
one in the Spirit,
joined and held together,
growing and building itself up in love—
Now that’s a real God-family reunion.
So as we reunite this morning,
as we reunite every Sunday morning,
let’s notice the ways we have grown.
And let’s continue to grow and be built up in love.
And as we do so,
as we grow in God’s ways,as we grow together,
as we share good food, gather with all ages,
tell the stories of the past, get excited for the future,
may we find an unforgettable God-family reunion,
full of the Spirit, forever and always.
Thanks be to God.