SETTING THE CONTEXT

The Gospel of Mark is a very active story. It doesn’t spend time talking about Jesus’ birth or childhood. It doesn’t have long theological speeches like the Gospel of John. Within 16 verses of the opening line, Jesus is off and running calling disciples, healing people, preaching and teaching. Today’s reading comes after a number of individual stories of healing. Jesus is in Galilee, but people have been coming from all across the region to see him. Before I read the passage I want to show you some of the places mentioned on this map: Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan is Perea, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. As you can see people were drawn from huge distances.

READ Mark 3:7-10

As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire after Jesus’ ascension and as the early church was just beginning to form, the movement ran into opposition at a local level and eventually at an empire level. At first Christians were just harassed and threatened. As the persecution moved in higher levels of government, people were arrested, jailed, beaten and even killed for their commitment to Christ. The first letter of Peter was written to Christians outside of Palestine in five Roman provinces that were enduring persecution. Even in the midst of their ordeals, they were called to maintain their Christ-like character and hold on to hope.

READ 1 Peter 4:3-11

THE SERMON

One of my favorite shows on television is Extreme Home Makeover. Every week a team of designers, volunteer construction companies and others come together to build a new home for a family in need along the way they have brought attention to the special challenges of people with a number of different special needs like people who are deaf, autistic, struggling with a deadly illness and surviving catastrophic losses. We hear the families’ stories and their struggles as well as we see their courage, strength and unity over the course of the show. We see hundreds of people working extremely hard to provide for a family something they could not do on their own. We also get to see the joy of the family as they receive this gift of a home and all the love that went into it. More than any show I have ever seen, we see the joy of giving week after week after week.

Examples of the joy of giving extend beyond this. The media often portray leaders in the corporate world like CEOs as corrupt and obscenely greedy and some are, but Bill and Melinda Gates, the founder of Microsoft, have set up a Foundation that is doing great good across the world. The Gates Foundation’s reach stretches from helping the new high school, Northpoint, that Sarah attends right here in Prescott to sponsoring malaria research that Dave P.’s son is doing in Kenya to vaccinating children in under-developed countries across the globe. Another multi-billionaire, Warren Buffet recently added the bulk of his personal fortune, $31 billion in stock to the Gates Foundation to support their efforts and a truly amazing thing is that his children were fully supportive of his decision.^[i] The thing that makes Bill and Melinda Gates’ foundation different from others is that they are very hands-on. They go visit many of the areas and people that they hope to help. They are present to those who will benefit from their generous giving.

A USA Weekend article last year included a survey showing young adults and teenagers born after 1982 are a very service oriented generation. The survey found 50% of the youth volunteered 40 hours or more a year, 64 % through their schools and 50% through their church, temple or mosque. The volunteering activities the youth chose as the most appealing were things like visiting sick children, feeding the homeless, tutoring, helping with affordable housing. Robert Bisi of Youth Service America said, “This generation of young people is serving more than any generation before them. They really care about their community.”^[ii] If we look at our own youth, we see this confirmed. All these examples show what I hope will be a trend in the coming years, a Christ-like trend of offering not only our money but ourselves as we do good in the world.

Actually this “hands-on” trend is not new at all. Our bishop wrote an article in our latest Conference newsletter where she talked about seeing the face of Christ in those who are in need of our help. She said that the founder of our denomination, John Wesley, insisted that those giving aid to the poor should give it to them directly. He believed that through the direct relationship the giver and the receiver would come to know each other as brother and sister. The giver also had the opportunity to personally and more deeply know the need of one he or she was sharing with. ^[iii] In essence, Wesley was seeing the value of our presence as well as our presents (gifts). I have learned the value of Wesley’s words in my experiences on mission trips and right here at home as I have participated in hands-on ministry in and through the church. We may not always be able to see the face of the one we are helping, but if we can we’ll be doubly blessed. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of our presence and God’s power to use it to change us and help others.

The passage we read in the First Letter of Peter talked about how the recipients changed their lifestyles once they placed their faith and allegiance with Christ. Their lifestyles changed from ones of self-centered excess and lawlessness to lives centered in love and service. “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:8-11) Offering the gift of our presence is something we do because it is a part of the new life Christ calls us to embrace when we commit ourselves to him. It is part of our stewardship of the grace we have received through his presence in our lives.

Our stewardship campaign this year is challenging us to Grow One Step. We are challenged to grow in our Giving, Reflecting or praying, and in Offering ourselves. There are so many different opportunities we have of offering the gift of our presence. From being lovingly present with a friend in their time of need, to serving in one of the hundreds of volunteer opportunities in the church, to serving in the community. Today I am so excited that we’ll live out this calling in our services as we welcome new members who are offering themselves to God through this faith community. They have and will continue to join with us in offering God the gift of our presence as we worship each week and as we serve God together. Then we’ll dedicate hats made for Open Door, a ministry to the homeless and low income, by our knitting group who gather each month for this purpose. These are just two examples of people offering themselves to God and to the work of Christ. I do think it is important too that we do offer our presence and our gifts in the name of Christ. And here is why.

In Mark’s Gospel news of the power of Jesus’ presence spread as people saw the impact of his work. It didn’t just spread to the next village either; it spread far and wide across the land drawing more and more people to him. When we offer our presence and our gifts in the name of Christ, we are showing his power at work in our lives. We are letting people see that he does change lives for the good and maybe just maybe they too will be drawn to him.

So I encourage you to ask yourself how you are offering yourself to God. How are you serving God with whatever gifts God has given to you? Presence is a present, a gift. Is God calling you to grow in this area? How about taking one step? Just like the grace of God, the opportunities are endless. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Nancy Cushman on October 22, 2006.