November 10, 2013 The Ripple Effect:
Being Together Pastor Carol P. Taylor
United Church of Beloit
Ecclesiastes 4:8-12
8 There
was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless―
a miserable business!
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless―
a miserable business!
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many
parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13For we were all
baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or
Gentiles, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to
drink. 14Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not
belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part
of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an
eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason
stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye,
where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear,
where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed
the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to
be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As
it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And
the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On
the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we
treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are
treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need
no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving
greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there
should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have
equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part
suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of
it.
Football joke...from Reader's Digest.
As a Catholic, Iam partial to Notre Dame football. As a former
Michigan resident, though, I also keep tabs on Michigan college
teams. One Saturday afternoon, a neighbor dropped in while I was
watching Notre Dame vs. Michigan State. ”Which team do you want
to win?” he asked. I replied, “Gee, I don't know,” ”I'm
kind of torn between Church and State.” Robert A. Kozma
Community...sports as community
building, we bond...but it can promote division too, Packers/Bears
etc....
true community runs much more deeply...
Ripple effect.....the rock tossed into
the pond....bigger rock equals bigger ripples! When we live out our
faith, we are causing ripples that can have quite an effect on
others!
And we may cause different kinds of
ripples....positive or negative. The ripples we send out can effect
others well, or badly. So we need to be mindful about what ripples we
cause, what effect we may have on others, right?
We are all part of the body of Christ.
Everyone in this church, in every church everywhere. That every
single part of the body is valuable and necessary. Even the parts
that don't seem special. We are all children of God.
In my extended family, my cousins and
their spouses and kids, are some pretty strongly held opinions. We
have Catholics and Protestants and Jews, agnostics, Democrats and
Republicans, GB Packer fans, Bears fans and one Vikings fan, but he
is only related by marriage....and we're praying for him.
But down deep, we are family first and
foremost. We love and respect each other, even tho our discussions
can get loud and lively! We enjoy being together, and that is what is
most important.
People tend to label people. Most
people like to have things fit into categories. That's just the way
our minds work. Gender, economic status, racial background, country
of origin, sexuality, dog lover or cat lover....whether as a fan of
the other team, or whatever. But we need to be careful because
labeling can be a way of “othering”--that is saying that the
person we just labeled is different...not one of us..therefore one of
the 'others'. If we focus on what is different, we fail to peceive
what we have in common. It's harder to remember that we are all part
of the same family, the family of God. We fail to see that the other
person has had joy and troubles, has loved and has had heartbreak,
has been ill and has felt fantastic...
it takes practice to keep looking for
and focusing on what we have in common.
Author Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together:
Christian community is not an ideal we have to realize, but rather a
reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The
more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and
promise of all our community is in Jesus Christ alone, the more
calmly we will learn to think about our community and pray and hope
for it.’
You see, we can not fully achieve true
community all by ourselves.
In the Old testament lesson, did you
notice something? The writer is talking about 2 people, 2 people
together...then says 'A CORD of three strands is not easily broken.”
two people, three strands....
it's God. The first strand is God. God
who created us, out of love, God who created us to Love God and Love
and take care of each other. God who so loved that God sent his Only
Son....When we make sure God comes first in our hearts and lives,
then we are the cord of three strands. THEN we are truly the Body of
Christ, living our faith, our commitment to our family―our
immediate family, our church family and the family of God.
Dallas Willard
... By relying on {Jesus'} word and presence we are enabled to
reintegrate the little realm that makes up our life into the infinite
rule of God. And that is the eternal kind of life. Caught up in his
active rule, our deeds become an element in God’s eternal history.
They are what God and we do together, making us part of his life and
him a part of ours.
A Story on a pastors' website....There
was a Benedictine community to whom nobody came. As the monks grew
old, they became more and more disheartened because they couldn't
understand why their community was not attractive to other people.
Now in the woods outside the monastery there lived an old rabbi.
People came from all over to talk to him about the presence of Yahweh
in creation. Years went by and finally the abbot himself went into
the woods, leaving word with his monks, “I have gone out to speak
to the rabbi.” (It was of course considered humiliating that a
Christian community had to go back to the synagogue to find out what
was wrong with them.)
When the abbot finally found the rabbi's hut in the woods, the rabbi welcomed him with open arms as if he had known that he was coming. They put their arms around each other and had a good cry. The abbot told the rabbi that his monks were good men but..., and the community was dying. He asked the rabbi if he had any insight into the work of Yahweh in their lives. The rabbi replied, I have the secret and I will tell you once. You may tell the monks and then none of you is ever to repeat it to one another. The abbot declared that if they could have the secret, he was sure his monks would grow.
So the rabbi looked at him long and hard and said, The secret is that among you, in one of you is the Messiah! The abbot went back to this community and told his monks the secret. And lo! as they began to search for the Messiah in one another they grew, they loved, they became very strong, very prophetic. And the old conference ends: From that day on, the community saw Him in one another and flourished!
--Story told by Joan D. Chittister.
When the abbot finally found the rabbi's hut in the woods, the rabbi welcomed him with open arms as if he had known that he was coming. They put their arms around each other and had a good cry. The abbot told the rabbi that his monks were good men but..., and the community was dying. He asked the rabbi if he had any insight into the work of Yahweh in their lives. The rabbi replied, I have the secret and I will tell you once. You may tell the monks and then none of you is ever to repeat it to one another. The abbot declared that if they could have the secret, he was sure his monks would grow.
So the rabbi looked at him long and hard and said, The secret is that among you, in one of you is the Messiah! The abbot went back to this community and told his monks the secret. And lo! as they began to search for the Messiah in one another they grew, they loved, they became very strong, very prophetic. And the old conference ends: From that day on, the community saw Him in one another and flourished!
--Story told by Joan D. Chittister.
Among you, in one of YOU is the
Messiah!
Jesus is within each of us. Look for
Jesus, look for the heart, remember that there is heartbreak there
too, and send out ripples that are positive, kind and loving.
Let's pray together, this is the full
version of a familiar prayer.
God, grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference,
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to
peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things
right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in
this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in
the next.
Amen.
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