Home  ›  Audio  ›  “Let it Shine,” Rev. Jason-Paul Channels, 10/25/15

“Let it Shine,” Rev. Jason-Paul Channels, 10/25/15

“Let It Shine”

Heart of the Rockies Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Fort Collins, CO

Rev. Jason-Paul Channels

October 25, 2015

Mark 4: 21-25

21 He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ 24And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23 (Message)

A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank.

The rich and the poor shake hands as equals—God made them both.

Whoever sows sin reaps weeds, and bullying anger sputters into nothing.

Generous hands are blessed hands because they give bread to the poor.

Don’t walk on the poor just because they are poor, and don’t use your position to crush the weak, Because God will come to their defense; the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them.

The resources that came with our Measuring What Matters materials suggested for preaching this week four sentences from Proverbs. Those of you who have tried to read proverbs know that much of the book of Proverbs are single short little statements.  They are handy and short and easy to remember but not generally built to be read in groups.  And so I must admit the 6 verses from Proverbs were pretty hard to read as tied together for a sermon, though they do work well as a way to help us think about stewardship and giving.  For our reading this morning I read from the paraphrase Bible the Message.

 A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank.

 The rich and the poor shake hands as equals—God made them both.

 Whoever sows sin reaps weeds, and bullying anger sputters into nothing. Generous hands are blessed hands because they give bread to the poor.

Don’t walk on the poor just because they are poor, and don’t use your position to crush the weak, because God will come to their defense; the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them.

The materials included the suggestion that “Proverbs 22 offers us a choice with regard to faith and giving. When it comes to faith and giving, are we going to have the faith, the confidence, to follow the way of wisdom, which is the way of giving, the way of generosity, not just to the church but to the wider community and to life? Or are we going to follow the way of folly, which is the way of clutching our possessions and keeping them to ourselves?”

No matter how hard I tried I could not find that challenge in those sentences from Proverbs. And so I began to wonder about what things we might be encountering in our lives that challenge us in our approach to giving.  I read the title of a blog post at some point in the last couple of weeks about how the big things that matter in our lives should also show up in the small things.  Like so many of those types of things I see I just knew I would remember who shared it and be able to go back and read it when I had more time.

I never got to read it, because no matter the search I type in I still haven’t found it. But the title suggestion alone has been on my mind as I worked on this sermon for our second week of the stewardship campaign Measuring What Matters.  And so I began to think of the stories from the Bible that focus on little things.  I thought of the mustard seed, Zacchaeus, the seeds the sower tosses on the variety of soils. I thought of the single lost coin and lamb and the mite shared by the widow in the Temple.  I thought of the bird in the air and the sheaf of wheat and the baby Moses and infant Jesus.  These and so many more that seem to indicate that the big things that are important show up in the little things we do.

Take one of our favorite children’s songs…This Little Light of Mine. We read responsively the text from Mark 4 that serves as the starting point for that song.  If light is what we think is important, why would we keep a lamp under a bushel or under a bed?  We wouldn’t.  A little thing like where to put the lamp would contradict it’s big importance if we decided that keeping it under a basket or the bed or in a closet would be a good choice.  To follow through with the importance we would place on the light and the lamp we would have it on the lamp stand because that was where the light would be most powerful and effective!

What are the things as a Christian you would identify as most important to you? We just got done exploring what it means to be a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Are any of those things—welcome, communion, baptism, scripture, mission and justice, unity—a part of that list?  What else might you add?

What do you want to make sure about your faith gets the proper focus and place and emphasis? What about your faith do you want to make sure is shinning out in to the world from the lamp stand rather than hidden beneath the basket or the bed?

Part of what we are doing as a congregation at Heart of the Rockies is spending some time this fall thinking specifically about what it is in our lives of faith that matters and serves to help build the Kingdom of God on Earth. What is it about the ministry of Christ that we are about as a part of this community that is spreading the Good News of Jesus with those that need to hear this message in their lives.  What light are we letting shine into the world around us that helps others in our community know the love and peace and grace and hope that God offers to us again and again and again?

I would say that as we think about measuring what matters in our ministry at Heart of the Rockies I can identify many ways that we are shinning God’s light into our world.

• Our Kids’ at Heart Ministry…are you a part of serving at some of our monthly Fundangos?
• Challenging the thoughts about how land and ownership of land is perceived in our culture by thinking about how we can do something other than sell land for the benefit of others.
• Turning upside down the concept that a building is only for those who belong to it by hosting families to live there…have you volunteered for Faith Family Hospitality or joyfully had to reschedule or work around this ministry?
• Sending out youth and adults into the broader world to be the hands and feet and hearts of God in places like Alamosa, Shiprock, Portland, Kansas City, La Foret, Denver, Fort Collins…Have you lent your energy and effort to one of these mission trip activities?
• We proclaim a Good News that is based on welcome and invitation in worship, sermons, Beer & Hymns and ongoing small group studies and prayer times. Sharing with the world a light that is often overshadowed by a more limiting or less inviting theological witness. Have you told someone about the invitation of welcome that YOU have experienced at Heart of the Rockies?

These are just some. You can probably name several more. All we have to do is look at the board in the lobby where many of us have written notes identifying these things about the ministry we share together. As we take time to think about the future of ministry as a community of faith we have work ahead of us, faithful theological, spiritual, prayerful work to do.   This work is not easy. It is not simple to measure what matters, what is effective, what is important, what is challenging and what is required of us. It is easier to just assume the light we have been shinning is the light we are supposed to be shining. It is also easier to think that others will make the ministries we find valuable happen for us. That others will take the lead, give their time and talents to creating and organizing them, that someone else will give of their resources to pay for the opportunities we celebrate. We have a chance during this time of the Stewardship Campaign and the preparation for strategic planning to think about what matters to us in our community of faith, what new things in the ministry God has called us to, and what role we are going to play in the future story. Through our gifts of financial resource, time, leadership, gifts and talents, presence and prayer each of us can be a part of this difficult and meaningful work of sharing our faith.

The beauty of the Christian community is that together we are one. That none of us are on our own. None of us have to be enough for anything because the grace of God has redeemed us all. The beauty of the Christian community is that in order for our light to shine most effectively as a people of faith we all bring our lights to the lamp stand. To let them shine. To not let anyone blow them out. To share them around everywhere we go. And together to let them shine, let them shine, let them shine!

That is the stewardship sermon that we are “supposed to preach” that talks about money and giving and all that hard stuff. But let’s just for s second step back and talk about the other part about this that is hard…that this is not easy on a personal level. This work is not easy because it is not easy to ask ourselves hard questions about the light in our own lives. So often we get stuck in a loop of doubt wondering if our light is shinning or is it hidden? Hidden because it gets put further and further from the front of our lives? Hidden because we are afraid to have it show? Hidden because we just don’t quite know how to let it shine? Hidden because those around us don’t want it bothering them? Hidden because we are just not sure it is a bright enough light to make much of a difference?