November Newsletter

What Makes a Disciple?

OR The sermon I didn’t give on Confirmation Sunday

On October 14 we had 6 teenagers stand up in front of the congregation and re-affirm the faith statements their parents had made on their behalf at the moment of baptism. My sermon title that day was Membership Means... and was my attempt to describe part of what it means to choose to be a part of the Christian Church. And because of everything else that was happening that day it was a pretty brief discussion of that topic – a topic that we are encouraged to talk and pray and think about all the days of our lives.

As I was preparing for that service there was another track I almost took. Membership in the Church means committing oneself to the path of discipleship. We don’t usually use that kind of language in the United Church these days. I know it wasn’t the language used in my confirmation classes 35 years ago, but I think the concept was there even without the word.

Earlier this week I was musing online (hypothetically speaking of course), in a space where I knew he might be reading, what it might take to get the newly elected Moderator, Rt. Rev. Dr. Richard Bott, to make a visit to a place. Obviously there is a process to go through, official channels to ask – the Moderator’s schedule is very full, but I was wondering what sorts of events might make a particular option look more inviting. Richard took the bait. Richard said, and I quote: “The guy has this thing about wanting to help people to explore what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus in the United Church of Canada in the 21st century.”. Now that is something I already knew because last Spring a group of us worked through a study that Richard had co-written. And it was all about being a disciple.

Which brings me back to what I might have talked about on Confirmation Sunday. In the study Immersion: Investing in God’s World the last half was working through an acronym approach to being a disciple. The possible sermon was to go through the acronym and talk about how one is a disciple. The Acronym is U.N.I.T.E.D.

• Uplifted by God’s Love: This reminds us that the basis of our life in faith is that God holds us in, as the old hymn says, a “love that will not let [us] go”. It reminds us that our worth, and the worth of those around us comes from being who we are, not what we have accomplished. We are important because we are part of God’s beloved creation and God loves us. This frees us to explore who God has made and called us to be and how God would have us live and act in the world.
• Nurtured through Worship: There is a longstanding debate on the question “do you have to go to church to be a ‘good’ Christian”. I think we can live out God’s love without it but it is harder. Worship with others reminds us that there are other people asking some of the same questions that we ask. Worship reminds us that we are part of a community. Hopefully worship also reminds us of what is important, reminds us of what God thinks is most important. Hopefully worship challenges us and energizes us as we continue to live in God’s way.
• Inspired through Scripture: Part of our exploration is looking at the stories left by those who have gone before. In Scripture we have this wealth of experience of people trying to understand how God is active in the world. As we read Scripture and wrestle with it and find where it intersects with our lives to day we learn more about God, about ourselves, and about where God might be leading us.
• Transformed through Prayer: The apostle Paul, after whom this congregation is named, encouraged people to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer is a chance to open ourselves to God’s presence, a chance to lay out what is on our hearts and minds but also to pause and listen for the still small voice of God. In one book on my Kobo Anne Lamott suggests that there are three basic prayers: Wow, Thanks, and Help. I would also add Sorry. Discipleship is way of life when we are in relationship with God as revealed by Jesus. Prayer is how we help build that relationship.
• Empowered through Spiritual Friendships: One of the things I have come to learn about life is that we can’t do it alone. (As a teen I thought it was safer to do it alone and took on the Simon & Garfunkel song “I am a Rock, I am an Island” as my theme for a period.) IN the end, humans are a social species. We are stronger when we are together. As a community of faith we help each other grow in our relationship with God. The hope is that within a community of faith we find people who will help us along the road.
• Developed through Service: I did touch on this idea on October 14. In the letter of James we are reminded that faith without works is dead, is meaningless. To be a disciple is an activity, it means we do things. The primary commandment Jesus gave us was to love each other. He didn’t mean to feel good about each other, he meant to act lovingly toward each other. To be a follower of Jesus is to serve as God’s hands and feet in the world.

To be a part of a Christian community of faith is to be invited on the path of being a disciple. We are all invited to learn and serve and grow together, U.N.I.T.E.D in faith and hope.

Thanks be to God.

Gord