Alone in a crowd, fulfilled by only one - World Communion Sunday

Rev. Harriette Cross
Englewood and Rust
October 3, 2010
A repreach of October 7, 2007
World Communion Sunday
Psalm 137
Luke 17:5-10
Alone in a crowd, fulfilled by only one
Year C



The first Sunday in October is always world communion Sunday, this is a time when we know that we are united with Christians all over the world in a common task- and we can think of the power that we have to build God’s kingdom and celebrate that it is working – the world is changing. The power of transformation is in our unity – in what we are able to do together.
Every first Sunday is a Sunday where Christians all over the world are taking communion. But we don’t think about it- we don’t think about our brothers and sisters in other churches in this neighborhood, in our community as doing the same thing as us. We get caught up into our own little bubble of understanding.
while thinking about unity this week , I was struck with an email that I received from another pastor. She was asking for prayers for her cousin, Danny – who felt isolated and alone in Thailand. She says,


Dannie is an American and a cousin of a friend of mine. His wife is Thai
(she isn't a Christian). She became homesick for her village in Thailand
so Dannie agreed to move. I spoke of Dannie last year on World Communion
Sunday because he had sent an e-mail that touched my heart so very much.
It read, "Keep me in your prayers. Believe me, I need it. It's so hard
to be alone as a Christian. But I do talk to my Lord a lot." Because of
his request for prayers, members of my church committed to praying for
him. When I relayed that to Dannie, his response was, "I am sitting here
in tears. I can feel the prayers of my brothers and sisters. I praise
God and I give Him the glory. Now the prayers that I and so many other
Christians who are alone need are coming to fill us with the joy of Jesus
Christ. Please let the people who are praying for me know that they are
also in my prayers."

That was a year ago. The e-mail I just received read, "I will take
Communion 'with you'. I will be alone, but not alone in spirit. Jesus is
with me everywhere I go. There are no churches in the mountain village
where I live. No missionaries either. Your prayers are important to me.
I do try to 'walk the walk' and I have been able to witness several times.
This is a hard land for Christians, but it is full of wonderful people."


I was touched by the email – because I think that it is important to always remember the other side of unity – isolation. We don’t have to be stuck somewhere alone in a foreign land to feel a sense of isolation- that we are out there all by ourselves.
I got in trouble at a church once, when a lady made a comment that you cant be a Christian on a desert island. People tell me all the time that they are Christian. They are very spiritual, but not are religious, but they don’t want to go to church. To believe that is to totally miss the point of all of Jesus teachings. I truly believe that the only way to be a Christian is to go to church – to be in community.
It is real easy for any of us to sit at home and to read the bible, and to watch the latest televangelist on tv, and to believe in our heart that we love everybody. That is not the faith that Jesus called us to. When you go to church and you sit on a church board, and you deal with someone who is always arguing and disagreeing with you. When you have to deal with someone who you don’t like and you don’t understand. When you are asked to do something, that you know is impossible. And you stick with it, and you find a solution, and you are a witness to what God can do in spite of you – that is the faith that Jesus Christ calls us into. Our faith is only challenged, and thus only grows when we are around people- people that we don’t understand, people that we don’t agree with, people that we have to learn to love.
And yet we have all had those moments in our lives when we have felt like Danny – we felt lonely and alone – not necessarily by chance – but by situation. We have all had our moments when life didn’t make sense. Times when the normal things in life that gave us so much comfort – are painful because they bring back memories of the way things used to be- when they are no more. All summer, we have been following the plight of the isrealites. They have been threatened with exile from their land because of their sin. Well the moment happened – the Babylonians didn’t let them starve, they went in to the city and led some of them away. Those who had money, and power are taken away. The remnant is left to survive. Those who are taken captive are fed, they are taken care of, the young are even educated – but as they sit by the canals of Babylon – dreaming of the rivers of Isreal – they become keenly aware that they are not at home – God has broken the promise to them – that they would always have a home. They got such joy in singing songs of praise- songs that celebrated God’s promise to them. To make a bad situation worse – their captors taunt them – seeing their grief by asking them to sing. But how can we sing the songs of zion in a foreign land.
There are many people in the world today – who are just like Danny, just like the isrealites – wondering how to maintain their faith in a foreign land. On this world communion Sunday – let us remember those who are in exile from their countries – like those from Darfur, in Africa who are escaping famine and a government who are killing them. There are many in Africa who have to escape widescale genocide. There are those who are in Pakistan who are still trying to escape the effects of an earthquake. Those from Cuba, who come to America seeking a life of freedom.
But you know there are also a lot of people on this block, on the block we live on, in our lives, who don’t come to church, because they feel isolated. They wont fit in, no one will understand them. They are insecure because they feel that that don’t have the same faith that you have. We remember these people and many more today – because they are a part of the Christian family – when we take communion – we are solidarity with their situations and we pray for God’s healing of their situations.
Exile is a physical situation, but it is also a spiritual situation. There are times when we can feel cut off from God and what God has called us to do. Many years later, when the isrealites were able to return to community, jesus was on the way to Jerusalem with his disciples. Jesus was reminding them of the importance of forgiveness. No matter what happens to us – it is okay to feel our grief. To refuse to sing the songs of praise. But as some point we have to move on, and the only way to move on is to forgive our brothers and sisters. The disciples were a lot like we are – how do you just forgive, when someone has done you wrong. We are faitfhful people – but reality always challenges our belief of the way things are supposed to be. They asks Jesus a question that we have to ask everyday. Can you increase our faith – because as it stands – we are not able to do what you asks of us. We want to be able to forgive and forget, but we just cant. We are inadequate, there are still things that we need to learn and understand, it will be a minute before we have the energy to move on, right now – we are still in our grief and we still need time to heal.
Jesus tells the disciples – that they don’t need to increase their faith. Any amount of faith at all with make a difference. Jesus tell them that the faith of a mustard seed can move a mountain into the sea. A friend of mine says that she used to go outside and try to will the mountains in her back yard to move. Of course nothing would ever happen. Yet the real focus of this story is the power of our faith. Jesus is telling us that we don’t need to increase our faith – we can witness the power of God with what we have – even if it is just a small glimmer of hope. That glimmer can change our life – and is enough to change the world. Faith is not about our positive thoughts – faith is our willingness to trust that God will take care of us. God always does all of the work. Faith is a willingness to let God do the work without us needing to be in control.
A small congregation on the smoky mountains built a new church on a piece of land willed to them by a member. Before the church opened, the building inspector came to the church to tell them that they could not open because the parking lot was not sufficient. The only way to expand the parking lot was to move a mountain behind the church. We all know by now that mountains don’t move. The pastor was determined to see the church opened. So she held prayer meetings every day. After the last amen on Friday – she told them that the church would be open on Sunday. Later that day – some men came to the church, explaining that they were building a shopping mall and they needed some dirt to build the foundation. They needed to get started immediately, if they could just take the dirt from the mountain. The mountain was literally moved, so that the parking lot could be built and the church could be opened.
It only takes a little – to make a big difference. Most of us – in this area of the country it would be safe to say that none of us have a mountain in our back yard that needs to be moved. But all of us have prayers, all of us have dreams, all of us have hopes that something in the world will be different. We don’t know how things will change, we don’t know what we need to do to change things. We just have a little bit of faith – that things should change. It is that small glimmer of hope that will make a difference-God will do the rest. God wants us to remember that each and everything that we do in life is about God. Every situation that we find ourselves in, we need to ask – what does this have to do with God. Every challenge that we have we need to ask – how is God at work in this situation. We don’t need to increase our faith – we just need to use the little that we have. Even in the toughest of situations, remember that all things are possible with God.
As we celebrate world communion Sunday, we are all keenly aware that unity amongst all Christians is not a reality – our differences still separate us. Even in our own church family – we all can’t work together on everything. There are many people who are not in exile from the Christian community, we still feel alone in a crowd. Who feel that no one is listening to them, no one cares for them. There are those who are suffering from grief. There are those who ask - how can I sing the songs of Zion, when I am amongst strangers. How can I praise God – when I have nothing to celebrate.
Jesus request to us all – is to just sing, just pray, just hope, just go forward, just celebrate our unity – God will do the rest!
The power of the gospel, of our belief in Jesus Christ is that it takes us from where you are now – to where God God wants you to be. Where you are – to where God wants you to be.
The gospel saves, brings you to life and offers you life everlasting. Salvation is restoring your life back to what it was meant to be.
God has big plans for you – for you to move on from where you are to live faithful, and compassionate. In return we can expect big things from God – the strength to go on, much farther than you were expecting. That is what faith is all about.
Let us pray…..

Weed or flower

June 14, 2009
“A Weed or a Flower”
1 Samuel 15
Mark 4:26-34
Year B
Second Sunday After Pentecost

Easter Flowers – Lillies, hyacinths, azaleas. Our sanctuary was filled with the lovely aroma of all of these special easter flowers. They all have a story of resurrections, and they remind us that the world is ,coming a live again.

But there is another easter flower that outshines them all - The most prolific Easter Flower – the dandelion

The qualities of the dandelion – the dandelion grows everywhere. It is strong it is hearty and it grows everywhere. Once lady talked about how she needed to get them out of her year, before her neighbor complained. They grew so abundantly.

Is it a weed or a flower?

God created both with a purpose

The point Jesus was trying to make when he tells the story of the mustard seed

The uses of mustard today – today we use mustard as a condiment, and so we think of it as a food.

But in Jesus’ time the mustard plant would have been a weed. He uses it as an example of faith.

Would not have grown into a tree, and is not the smallest seed in the world. And you cant do a whole lot with them.

The reality is that they are a nuisance. Once you plant them you cant get rid of them. They are everywhere. And the more you try to unplant them, the more they seem to appear.

His audience would have been laughing at him, or laughing with him as he talked about mustard. You don’t really need to spend a whole lot of time planting them, they can take caer of themselves.

The good news is that God does not call us to be mustard plants – a weed. Even though all weeds are plants of God and thus have a purpose.

He calls us to have the faith of a mustard seed. To realize that we are the beginnings of something big. Something prolific at least.

Mustard plants are the plants of God. They don’t grow themselves. And they do not grow according to human care. When the seeds are planted – God does the rest of the work to make them grow.

We are not called to make anything happen, to make anything grow. To just plant the seeds with our faith. To walk away and to see what happens.

When we see situations that are impossible, we have no idea of why God is telling us to plant the seeds. We just do as we are told. God sees differently then we do.

God instructed Samuel to go to Bethlehem to look for a new king for Israel. He took his oil and his sacrifice and he went to the house of Jesse. Jesse had lots of hardworking, strong capable sons. Samuel was sure that the oldest, the strongest, would be God’s pick for King.

Yet God reminded Samuel that even though he sees the outward appearance, God sees the inside. The heart. God had picked the youngest son, David to be the new king of Israel. Samuel anointed him.

But one thing that I did not realize about this story was that this did not happen immediately. It took years for David to grow up, and for the turn of events to make things happen.

And yet from that moment forward, he knew that God was working his destiny out for him. And that if God anointed him King, one day it would happen.

He had the faith of the mustard seed that one day – he would do prolific things. But in God’s time and at Gods will.

That is the lesson for us- we spend so much of our lives waiting for results. Waiting for things to happen. Waiting for proof that our efforts are not in vain. Waiting to see that someone our work is making a difference. Waiting for our destiny.

And God has to send events and people to remind us – that we are not in control. We can plant seeds all day – but we cant make them grow. We have to wait on God to do that. Furthermore, we are not encouraged to plant easter flowers, which have to be cared for- and nurtured, and watered, and babyed. They are pretty to look at, and they satisfy our need to think that God needs us. We are planting mustard seeds, like dandelions – which once planted take on a life of their own. Or more precisely god takes care of them better than we ever could. They grow strong and hearty and spread the message of God’s love everywhere – you cant stop them once they get started.

We never know what we are starting – just start it anyway.

There once was a man – who forgot to kiss his wife goodbye – he was in such a hurry. Yet his wife noticed and felt slighted. She went and yelled at her son who was getting ready for school – that his shirt was wrinkled. When his sister came down for breakfast – he yelled at her. She went outside and kicked the dog – just for being him. This family was in turmoil, starting off to have a bad day, and no one seemed to know why and no one seemed able to do anything about it. They were mad, because someone had shown them anger. And they unknowingly passed it on to others. – It is sort of like the world we live in – where we live in a state of consequences and actions in which we have no control. But after being kicked, he dog came up to the little girl and showed her an act of kindness – he licked her nose. That changed her whole day and her whole outlook on life. She went and volunteered to help her brother iron his shirt and get ready for school. They both remembered to kiss their mom good bye as they went off to school to help a younger child get on the school bus. The mom felt better, and vowed to do something nice for her family. When her husband came home she greeted him with a big kiss. And asked him how his day went. The father – with no thought of how his actions affected his family. Went on with his daily routine, but announced to his family that he was taking them to Disney world next week. The whole family changed – just because the dog licked the nose of the little girl. One small act, one mustard seed planted. One soul willing to not get caught in in the way the circumstances were, but in what could be done in the moment to make a difference. And it made a difference. A very subtle difference in the life of this family.

It is okay for us to do big things – but Jesus encourages us to plant mustard seeds. Plant little things in which God can use and turn into weeds. Things prolific enough to take on a life of God’s amazing growth.

In time, God’s time – our actions will change to circumstance – and eventually change the world in ways that we cannot imagine.
Amen.