A Life Worth Leading†                                     Pastor Sue Briner                            Ephesians 4:1-6

Fellowship– The Process of Integration                                                      1Corinthians 12:12-27

September 23, 2007                                                                                                    John 15:1-11

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

“Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”

As a congregation, we are reflecting on what it means

            To lead such a life,

Last week we looked at how Worship enables us to do this.

In worship we come into the presence of God,

            And we receive all that God wants to give us,

                        So that we can share what we receive with others.

This week we’re going to examine how we were created by God

            To be in relationship with one another;

                        We call this Fellowship.

Back in the book of Genesis we read:

“Then God said, let us make humankind in our image,

According to our likeness.” (1:26)

Notice that God talks about himself in the plural –

            Us and our.   

And when we talk about God,

            It’s Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

                        So God himself is all about relationship.

And God says that it’s not good for the human to be alone, (2:18ff)  

            So God creates a partner for Adam.

Right from the beginning,

            We were formed to be in relationship with one another.

But what happens almost immediately after God creates humans?

That’s right, it’s “Family Feud.”  

                        Adam and Eve get into a fight about the apple,

                                   Then they begin the blame game.

Then Cain kills his brother and gets cut off from the family.

And human relationships have been messed up ever since.

            The Old Testament is one story after another

Of dysfunctional relationships,

            Played out in families and among nations.

Fast forward a few thousand years to today

            And little has changed.

                        Our relationships are still messed up.

Maybe that’s why we sometimes think it’s easier not to get too close to others.

            So we wall ourselves off from the world;

                        Behind our privacy fences or our attitudes,

                                    Through our fancy toys and technologies,

                                                Or our over-busy lives.

But when Jesus came to earth,

            He began to redefine, to rebuild relationships.

                        He told his disciples:

                                   “Whoever does the will of my Father…

                                                Is my brother and sister and mother.”  (Matt.12:50)

He brought outcasts back into the community.

And while he hung on the cross,

He made sure his mother would be cared for.

                         “‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple,

                                   ‘Here is your mother.’” (John 19:26-27)

Christ’s death and resurrection

            Was about bringing us back into relationship with God,

                        AND with one another.

In baptism we are adopted as God’s child,

ANDbrought into God’s family.  

That’s what will happen at the font with Freddie today.

Now when Freddie was born.   

            He could not exist on his own.

                        He needs a family to live and to grow.

Well, it’s the same thing with our Christian family.

            God never meant for us to live on our own.

So He gave us the family of God.

Our Christian fellowship is God’s gift of life to us.

            This fellowship is a big part

Of how God enables us to lead lives of purpose.

And at the same time, our Christian fellowship is a witness to the world

            Of what God intends for all human relationships.

So what is Christian fellowship all about?

At its most basic, it is about membership,

It is about belonging.

Listen to the language we use in baptism.     

            “We welcome you into the Lord’s family,

                        We receive you as a fellow member of the body of Christ…” (LBW pp. 125)

When Freddie is baptized today,

He will belong, not only to God,

                        But to us as his faith family.

Now you might have heard some folks say:

            “I’m a Christian, but I don’t need to belong to a church.”

Paul says in today’s second lesson,

            Using the imagery of the church as the body of Christ:

                       “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’

                                    Nor again the head to the feet,

                                                ‘I have no need of you.’” (1 Cor. 12:21)

To think that an eye or a foot can survive

Without being connected to the body is foolish!

God formed us to belong to God’s family, the church.

            You received a red piece of yarn when you came in today.

                        It all came from the same ball.

                                    And it reminds us of our membership in God’s family.

But God has greater things in store for us than simply belonging.

Christ calls us to deepen our fellowship

                        With one another.

We were made for friendship with God and with other Christians.

What does friendship look like?

            In our first lesson

                        Paul speaks of “bearing with one another in love.” (Eph. 4:2)

“Bearing” means supporting, sustaining, carrying,

Giving, guiding.

Jim Wilson and Sally Morgenthaler,

            In their book “Future Church”

Describe friendship in Christian community this way:

It is about “…members of the body of Christ

Rubbing souls with one another,

Entering into each other's pain

And celebrating one another's victories.”

What a wonderful way to think about that! 

            Now in a big church like St. Luke’s that happens best

                        In small groups.

It can happen in Bible Studies and retreats,

And in any groups gathered together,

            Formally or informally.

The key is to share more than recipes or sports scores.

Share your joys and struggles,

Pray for and support each other in times of need.

I don’t know what I would do without my group of Christian friends

            Who love and support each other.

Those of you who have been through tough times

And have shared your struggles with other Christians,

            And have been carried by their prayers and encouragement

                        Know the incredible power of these friendships.

Now, this flies in the face of our “lone ranger” culture,

            Where we think “going it alone” is expected of us.

Or maybe we’re afraid that if people found out what I was really like,

With all the messiness of my life,

                        I wouldn’t be accepted.

                                    So we put on a façade.

But the reality is, we all have our own messes.

            We all have things and times in our lives that we wish we didn’t have,

                        Or that weren’t happening.   

But when we share our messes,

            We can help one another make it through

                        And even get rid of some of those things

That we’re carrying around unnecessarily.

And when we share our joys,

            We can also gain strength from each other

                        As we see God’s activity in our lives.

.

This yarn is braided with 3 strands,

The individual threads can be pulled apart,

                        But when we come together, with Christ in the center,

                                    We can withstand anything.

Now, as we deepen our Christian friendships

            We begin to realize that the family of God needs us –

                        We recognize we are in partnership with one another.

We understand ourselves as part of the body of Christ

            We begin to play a greater role in God’s mission

To bless and save the world.

Let’s go back to the baptism liturgy for a moment.

God makes this new brother a member

                        SO THAT together “we may proclaim the praise of God,

                                    And bear his creative and redeeming Word to all the world.”

We each have a part to play in God’s mission.

            And when we cooperate,

                        We get more done together than we ever could by ourselves.

We’re going to learn more about this in the coming weeks.

And as we deepen our fellowship further,

            We discover our kinship with one another.

We may not know everyone in this family well,

But as Paul says in our second lesson;

            “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it;

                        If one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” (1Cor. 12:26)

It means being as committed to one another as we are to Christ.

            It means relying on one another as we rely on Christ.

True fellowship is true kinship,

            Being there for other people,

And loving and forgiving and caring for them as if they were family,

Because they are family.

When you know and experience that kind of fellowship,

            It changes your life.

And that is what life is all about;  

            Loving God, loving each other

                        And having your life changed because of it.

Life isn’t ultimately about our accomplishments,

            Or what we own,

                        Or even having fun.

                                    It’s about relationships.

I have never heard anyone on their deathbed say;

            “I wish I spent more time at the office,”

                        Or “bring me my big screen TV.”

Now, I want you to consider where you are in your Christian fellowship

            If you are still floating from church to church,

                        Perhaps you want to consider joining us.

Or if you are already a member here,

            Think about how you can deepen your level of fellowship

                        By getting involved in a small group,

                                    Or changing what gets talked about in those groups,

                                                So that you grow in your Godly relationships.

In closing, I’d like you to take your red yarn,

            And hand it to someone next to you so they can tie it around your wrist.

This reminds us that we need one another,

            And that we are all connected in the body of Christ.