Community Church Sermons
October 2, 2005
Dr. R. Tim Meadows
On the evening of January 28th 1985 in conjunction with the American Music Awards, a panoply of musical stars, ranging from the refined voice of Harry Belafonte to the rough but sacred voice of Willie Nelson, gathered to record a song that expressed the sentiment of the era. They sang:
We are the
ones who make a brighter day so lets start giving.
There’s a
choice we’re making.
We’re
changing our own lives.
It’s true
we’ll make a better day
Just you
and me.
The sentiment expressed by the song is the focus of our biblical lessons today. From the prophet we hear how the ancient Hebrews believed THEY were the world. They rejected God’s mission to become a part of and serve the larger world, resulting in the God’s judgment of upon them for their failure. From Paul comes a statement of how, once his life was grasped by Christ, he committed himself to becoming the world in order to share with the world the redemptive message of Christ. To the church at Philippi and to us Paul offers the following challenge:
I. To Become the World We Must Forget the Past: It is easy to be captivated by the success of the past, to point to our achievements, to proclaim what we have done well. It is also easy to be defeated by the past, to dredge up all of the failures of our best intentions. In doing either one, we cannot become the world because we are not present in the world. Paul’s call to forget the past is not a call to historical amnesia, rendering history without value, rather it is a call to avoid the idolatry of history, which may lead us to the place of proclaiming “we have never done it that way before”. This attitude has caused our world to ask if we even understand where they are, much less whether we can offer them anything of value or not. One of the greatest difficulties that grows out of our failure to forget the past is the belief of most in our world that we are irrelevant. They contend that we have nothing to say to them where they are. To become the world we must use our past for the value it provides to inform, shape, and guide us, but not to confine us.
II. To Become the World We Must Focus on the Present: We should ask the questions: who we serve, what we have to give, and why we are serving the world? The books on our altar this morning represent one of the groups we serve and remind us that if we as the Community Church of Tellico Village truly want to become the world we must be open to others, regardless of their sexual preference, political affiliation, skin color, etc. To become the world, we must offer the grace of God to these and others in the present. A friend of mine once suggested that to be present in the world, the Church must choose between one of two models. The church, he suggested, can either be a museum or a hospital emergency room. Museums are nice, neat, clean, and orderly places where we can view things of the past that have been preserved. Emergency rooms are chaotic, loud, and messy; filled with people who desperately need help, who cling to the hope of life if something can just be done to assist them. T.V.C.C. must make this choice to focus on becoming the world in the present. Will we be a museum (nice, neat, and clean) or an emergency room (messy and chaotic, but filled with hope)?
III. To Become the World We Must Prepare for the Future: What will the church of the future look like? What will T.V.C.C. look like? A lot of so called experts will try to tell you that they know. They are lying. I do not know what the church will look like, but I know it will be different. Our responsibility to the future is to be available and let God work through that availability. We must be ready for what God brings in our future. We also should commit ourselves to pursuing God’s maturity, becoming what God would have us to be, joining Paul in seeking to understand Christ and His resurrection. As we seek to become the world we must ask ourselves the following questions:
- Are we reflective of the world around us? If not, why not?
- What must we change to prepare for the future?
- What should we keep?
The panoply of singers concluded their song saying:
Let’s realize that one change
can only come when we stand together as on.
We are the world. We are the children. We are the hope of God for the world, so let’s start giving!