I do not have the time in this
sermon to do justice to Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was killed
March 24, 1980 at the age of 63. Romero sided with the poor people
of El Salvador who were being tortured and killed by the thousands
in what a UN Truth Commission said was a genocidal war funded
in part by our own government. Romero had little support, if
any, from his government, our government or his own church. Earlier
in 1980 prior to his assassination Romero was quoted as saying, "I
must tell you as a Christian I do not believe in death without
resurrection. If I am killed I shall arise in the Salvadoran
people."
In the April 18, 2004 edition of "Synthesis,"
Archbishop Romero is quoted from an unnamed source:
"Christ himself explains: 'As my Father sent me,
I send you.' He means that the Church is born with this
breath of His, and the mission that the Church will bear to
the world for all time will be that of Christ dead and risen.
The Church celebrates its liturgy and preaches its message
only for this: to save from sin, to save from slaveries, to
overthrow idolatries, to proclaim the one God who loves us.
That will be the Church's difficult mission, and it knows
that in fulfilling that mission, which earned for Christ a
cross and humiliations, it will have to be ready also not to
betray that message and, if necessary, to suffer martyrdom
like Him — suffer the
cross, humiliation, persecution."
One must ask in many parts of the Church today whether or not
the people of God are prepared to accept such a mission in the
name of Christ on behalf of others. The miracle of Easter is
not only depicted by the empty tomb; it is also depicted in the
changed lives of those who followed Jesus, people who were willing
to accept their mission. Peter, who had denied even knowing Jesus
three times the night of Jesus' arrest and who ran away
with the other disciples when Jesus was killed now is a man of
courage along with the others who had also lost their fear. They
could not be kept quiet as they told others of Jesus and healed
and baptized in His name. In spite of being arrested and placed
in prison from which God released them these previously cowardly
disciples went right back to doing what had just got them into
trouble with the authorities. When told to keep quiet Peter announced
to the authorities that he and the others had to obey God rather
than human authority.
This is not meant to be an excuse to not follow proper authority;
it is meant to mean that when human authority defies the laws
of God, it must be held accountable. The world needs the Church
to defend the Truth. It needs the Church to bring God's
Light into the darkness that still attempts to control us. There
are those who still need to be saved from sin, those who need
to be rescued from slavery of many kinds and those who need to
be freed from injustice. God still needs to be proclaimed and
worshiped. Who will do these things if not us?
I know for a fact that in the general scheme of things that
you and I are not very important. We are merely 500 people in
a world populated with billions. We are just one of dozens of
congregations in McLean County. We don't even qualify as
one of the largest. Our annual budget including the Building
Fund is just pocket change to many of the world's richest
individuals. Even the best known of our members, whoever that
may be, is not that well-known. In terms of worldly power, the
most powerful of our members don't even register on the
scale that measures such things. Left to ourselves we could easily
say that we really don't matter that much and that we really
don't have that much power or influence to bring about
much of anything.
Like it or not all of the above statements are true. There
is just one tiny little hitch to all of this that makes all the
difference in the world. Luke writes in Acts 5:32, "And
we are witnesses to these things" — meaning the death
and resurrection of Jesus. Then Luke goes on, "and so is
the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him." This
same thing is found in John 15:26-27, "When the Advocate
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of
Truth, who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.
You also are to testify because you have been with me from the
beginning." You and I are called to be witnesses, to testify
on behalf of Jesus to those who do not know Him or follow Him.
Left to ourselves this would be impossible, but there is this
Holy Spirit thing we cannot ignore. God Himself is with us. There
is simply no way we can say we believe in God and at the same
time ignore that God is with us calling us to live our lives
as God commands. To deny this calling is tantamount to denying
our believing in God.
Rick Warren declares in his book, The
Purpose-Driven Life,
that you and I are created for a purpose and that as far as God
is concerned it is not optional as to whether or not we accept
it. We can deny the existence of God. In our freedom of will
that is entirely possible. However, if we claim to accept Jesus
as our Lord and Savior it is not optional as to whether or not
we will follow His commands.
Each and every person is a vital part of the body of Christ.
Each and every person has a vital contribution to make. Each
and every person is equipped by the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill
the ministry given to them to do be it an individual or a corporate
contribution.
Therefore, while we may not be all that famous, powerful or
influential on our own, we must keep in mind that we are called
to be partners with the Holy Spirit. There is only one thing
that determines what God will be able to accomplish through us
and that is our willingness, or lack of it, to be servants, to
be witnesses, to be workers in God's vineyard.
As we celebrate completing the first round of study concerning
living purposeful lives and as we begin a major building project
and as we begin new ministries with new staff, I challenge and
invite each person to pray for discernment of your gifts and
to work on a ministry team designed to do one of the following
things:
- To help in any aspect of worship ministry
from singing in choirs, playing instruments, being liturgists,
ushers, greeters or worship committee members.
- To help in the ministries of the congregation.
The work of visiting others, making encouraging calls, fixing
meals, listening and praying for others are just some of
the ways to serve.
- Participate in acts that are designed
to bring God's word to non-believers. Be involved in
ministries that encourage justice, mercy and compassion.
- Be a part of a small group or offer
to lead one. Invite others to join you at home or at work.
- Help with teaching what Jesus taught.
Teach Sunday school, vacation Bible school or work with a
youth group. Parents need to help teach their children the
basic Bible stories.
There are many ways to witness. Each one of us is different.
Some will be seen as rebels while others work quietly behind
the scenes. Regardless of who you are, you are called to be a
witness. The world in which we live will be shaped by how we
respond. We simply cannot ignore our calling for it comes directly
from Jesus. How we respond speaks volumes about what we believe. |
