Charlotte
Collins Reed
Christ
Church Episcopal
January 19,
2020
2 Epiphany A/Annual Meeting
Today is our Annual Meeting at Christ
Church, the day we review the past year and look to the future and all that
2020 will hold for us. Today we will also
baptize Abigail Bailey, bringing her into the household of God. This weekend, the country celebrates the life
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his quest for real and lasting equality for
all people. Each of those events
deserves a sermon of its own, and yet, the one sermon per Sunday rule still
applies.
However, as I think about the
confluence of these three events, it occurs to me that this confluence is a
parable of sorts for our past year together.
In 2019, we opened our doors and offered hospitality to the community over
and over again in times of joy, sorrow, fear, and a desire to simply be good
neighbors. In the same year, we ran a
very successful “Building for Community” capital campaign thanks to the efforts
of a large number of people who gave of their time, their energy, and their
resources to help make Christ Church a more accessible, more welcoming place
for the many people who gather here. And
in the same year, we started a new young choristers program, hosted the new
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, participated in First Serve without getting
rained out this time and had a combined worship service with First
Presbyterian. All of this while
continuing the many ongoing outreach, education, and worship ministries of
Christ Church. If we can do all that in
one year, juggling three events in one sermon should be no problem!
This morning, we hear the account in
John’s gospel of the calling of Jesus’ first two disciples. Two of John the Baptist’s disciples hear the
prophet say “Look, here is the Lamb of God” and follow Jesus. When Jesus realizes he is being followed, he
turns and says to the two “Who are you looking for?” The two ask where Jesus is staying, and Jesus
replies “Come and see.” The two wind up
spending the day with Jesus. We have no
idea what transpired that day, or what Jesus said, did, or taught. But one of the men was Andrew, and Andrew was
so moved by Jesus that he went and found his brother, Simon, and told him that
they had found the Messiah. Andrew took
Simon to Jesus, who renamed him Cephas, or Peter, and the rest is history.
This story, I believe, is what holds
our Christ Church parable together this morning. One person, Andrew, a relatively unknown
follower of John the Baptist introduces Simon Peter to Jesus, a small and
simple act that makes a huge difference in the course of Christianity. In baptism, each individual is called by name
and made part of the household of God. Together,
each of us as an individual renews our baptismal covenant because we know that
each of us as individuals matter. When
each of us as individuals commits to working for justice and peace and
respecting the dignity of every human being together, and we allow the Holy
Spirit to work through us, the body of Christ can make a powerful gospel
difference in the world. We will bring
Abigail into the body of Christ where she will make a difference, both an
individual and as part of something much larger than herself.
Likewise, in all of the things we have
accomplished in the past year, the hard, the easy, the sad, and the joyful, we
have been able to do that because each person has done their one person’s worth
and we have done that work together.
Like Andrew, each of us has done what we could and when we each do that,
together we do pretty amazing things. Just
as a small example, last Friday-day before yesterday- when an email went out
asking for help with the reception after Al Donley’s funeral next Saturday, the
replies came pouring in with offers of food and help as we work to provide the
best hospitality and comfort to those who gather. That, in itself, is a parable of our life
together. When we each do our one
person’s worth, whether a Capital Campaign, funeral reception, Vacation Bible
School, or any other project, ministry, or challenge, together with the Holy Spirit,
we will be able to do whatever God is calling us to do.
Of course, Dr. King is another model
of the difference one person can make. Dr.
King was committed to non-violent resistance as he worked to eradicate racism
and poverty, and to uphold and protect the freedom, equality, and dignity of
every human person. Whether from jail or
from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Dr. King's message
was the same: all people are created equal and are equally God's children
regardless of skin color or economic status, and that whatever affects one
person affects everyone, even if indirectly.
Dr. King's work made a difference, in part because he inspired countless
people, individuals who perhaps wondered what one person could do, to join in
sit-ins, marches, peaceful demonstrations, and boycotts to help deliver the
message that ALL people are created equal.
If each person who heard Dr. King thought "I am just one
person. My actions won't make a
difference," there would have been no one at the sit-ins or marchs and,
indeed, those actions would have had no power.
But together, thousands and thousands of individuals, inspired by one
person, made a powerful difference.
Andrew’s small act in introducing his
brother to Jesus made an enormous difference in Christian history. Did Andrew know at the time the difference he
was making? I doubt it. But I do know this: every time we each take
the gifts God has given us and we work together, resisting any temptation to
think “I am just one person and my actions won’t make a difference,” Christ
Church, like Andrew and Dr. King, will make a powerful gospel difference in the
world around us. Again and again and
again.
Amen
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