John 9:1-7 (NIV)
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As
he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples
asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born
blind?”
3 “Neither
this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the
works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As
long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming,
when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light
of the world.”
6 After
saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it
on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of
Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home
seeing.
1 Peter 4:7-11
7 The
end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may
pray. 8 Above
all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer
hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each
of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful
stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as
one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with
the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through
Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Work For The Night Is Coming (1)
Work, for the night is coming, Work
through the morning hours;
Work while the dew is sparkling, Work
’mid springing flowers;
Work when the day grows brighter, Work
in the glowing sun;
Work, for the night is coming, When
man’s work is done.
Work For The Night Is Coming.
I started my journey into pastoral
ministry back in 1975 when at the tender age of 21 I was appointed to serve as
pastor of the Norwalk and Wilton United Methodist Churches. It was an amazing
and frightening time for me and it didn’t really sink in until some years later
that I had actually been asked to lead a congregation in which I was just a few
years older than many of the kids in the church’s youth group. In 1975 I was
introduced as the “new, young minister” and the label made a lot of sense even to
me. I was literally the “new” “young” pastor.
After two years in Norwalk, Julie
and I got married and we moved to Soldiers Grove where I was the Student
Assistant on (what was then called) a Greater Parish. There were five (5)
churches and I assisted the Senior Pastor with those five individual congregations.
At the time I was the ripe old age of 23. Again, I was the “new, young minister”
but I came with two years of experience. I was starting to feel like the “old
man.”
From there we moved to Southern Indiana
so that I could continue my schooling in Kentucky. We moved into a parsonage
and I served Wesley Chapel, Blocher and Liberty United Methodist Churches. They
seemed excited about having a “new, young minister” who was 24 years old and
had 3 years of experience serving seven (7) different congregations. I suspect
that they were just being kind. That’s the kind of people they were.
After I graduating from seminary
Julie and I (and our first two children, Matthew and Anna) made the move back
to Wisconsin where I was appointed to serve three (3) churches; Livingston,
Arthur and Stitzer. By this time, I was a family man with six (6) years of
pastoral experience (having served 10 different churches.) I was 27 years old
and everyone referred to me as the “new, young minister.”
From there we moved to Mosinee and
from Mosinee to Eau Claire and from Eau Claire to Fort Atkinson. Even moving
into Fort Atkinson at the age of forty-one (41) I was referred to by many in
the congregation as the “new, young minister.” It gives you a sense of what the
average age of the congregation was.
After 15 years of service in Fort
Atkinson I was asked to come here to Elm Grove: Community UMC. When I arrived
here I had already served thirty-five years (35) in ministry and had been the
pastor of seventeen (17) different churches.
When I came to Elm Grove it was the
first time in my career when I wasn’t referred to (by someone) as the “new,
young minister.” In fact, one of the concerns was that I might not be “young”
enough. This was significant for me because in the 35 years I had been doing
this work this was the first time that I recognized that my ministry was time
limited. I was ready to admit that I wasn’t “young” anymore and that one of
these days would be my last day in ministry. Jesus said, “Work for the night
is coming…”
4 As long as it is day, we
must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While
I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Work For The Night Is Coming (2)
Work, for the night is coming, Work
through the sunny noon;
Fill brightest hours with labor, Rest
comes sure and soon.
Give every flying minute, something to
keep in store;
Work, for the night is coming, when man
works no more.
Work For The Night Is Coming.
Some people would ask what this WORK is that we have been
called to do? In general, we could use the words of Jesus as a guideline. Our
work is to carry on where Jesus left off and to be his representatives in the
world. We are commissioned to bring the “light” of Jesus into the lives of the
people who live around us. Jesus said,
14 “You are the light of the world.
…let your light shine before others, that
they may see your good deeds
and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14,
16
Our challenge is to find ways for us to actually be “the
light of the world.”
This is not something that someone else can do for you. When
we sign up to be an individual part of the church (the “ecclesia” of God…those
who are called out of the world to be God’s servants) we are then making this
task our personal task. We have signed our names to this agreement. We are
working to be the light of the world and, with all of the hatred, fear and
loneliness at work around us, the world could certainly use more light.
But we can’t stop this conversation here because if we don’t
clarify for ourselves what this means in very practical terms we will accomplish
nothing. We have to know what it means to be “light” in the
world and this is where Peter can help us. He said,
“8 Above
all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of
sins. 9 Offer
hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each
of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful
stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
We need to…
“…love each other deeply”
“Offer hospitality…without
grumbling.”
“…use whatever gift (we) you
have received to serve others,”
And let the world see that we are…
“… faithful steward(s) of God’s
grace”
LOVE always requires definition, especially
in the culture we live in every day. Here’s a summary:
•Love
is not always giving people what they want but offering them what they need.
•Love
is not defined by what we receive but is measured in what sacrifices we are
willing to make.
•Love
is not situational or temporary; love is steadfast and eternal.
“…love
each other deeply”
HOSPITALITY shouldn’t be too hard for us to
get our arms around. The Greek word used here is “φιλόξενοι“ (philoxenoi) which literally means “treating
a foreigner (stranger) like a friend.” We are called to treat the
people around us as if they were all dear friends to us. This involves caring,
compassion and a willingness to be inconvenienced. This means being willing to
set aside our schedule and our agenda in order to care for someone else.
In the work we do in the Church we often talk about what it
means to be hospitable and the definition that gets repeated over and over
again is that we need to treat people who come to our Church gathering as if
they were guests in our home. We need to go out of our way to make them
comfortable, provide for their needs and have them go away feeling like they
were cared for.
“Offer hospitality…without
grumbling.”
Because we know when people are being genuine. We need to
learn to genuinely care about the people who come here AND the people we meet
on the street every day.
We are called to USE OUR GIFTS to
serve others (which means that we have to discover what our spiritual gifts
might be; which, in turn, means that we have to take learning about spiritual
gifts seriously. We have been using a spiritual gifts inventory for a couple of
years now and we have copies available to you again today. If you haven’t taken
this inventory or if you haven’t taken this inventory for a while you will want
to fill it out today so you can discover where you might be best suited to
serve. It is, after all, about service.
“…use whatever gift (we) you
have received to serve others,”
You and I are have been commissioned to be stewards OF GOD’S GRACE.
“… faithful steward(s) of God’s
grace”
Grace means “free, unwarranted gift” which means that we
have to embody and proclaim the love that God has for everyone. We need to be
able to remind people (and live it out) that our God has loved them from the
very beginning, before they even knew his name, before they even cared to look
and that God has been calling out to them offering forgiveness and healing and
new life.
But, the reality is that
all of us are all “time limited.” We don’t have forever. Everyday news reports
remind us that (given the uncertainty of our world) we have little control over
when the “night” comes.
Work
For The Night Is Coming (3)
Work, for the night is coming, Under
the sunset skies;
While their bright tints are glowing,
Work, for daylight flies.
Work till the last beam fadeth, Fadeth
to shine no more;
Work, while the night is darkening,
When man’s work is o’er.
Work For The Night Is Coming.
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