The Blessings of Ministry
Matthew 4:12-5:16 (The Message)

Our text this morning tells us that when Jesus got word that his cousin John had been arrested, Jesus decided to relocate. He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village of Capernaum... Luke, in his gospel, gives us a bit more insight into why Jesus relocated (see Luke 4:16-30). Luke records how Jesus announces to his home synagogue that he has decided his vocation in life will be to fulfill the Vision of Isaiah to "...bring good news to the poor....to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." As you may remember, Jesus is driven out of Nazareth and he relocates to Galilee and the lakeside village of Capernaum.

Matthew informs us the "Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: Change your life. God's kingdom is here."

And Jesus began by changing the lives of those he met. As Jesus walked along the beach one day, he saw the brothers Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing -- not for fun and sport -- but because that was their occupation, they were fisherman. Jesus said to them: "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you." Change. And Matthew informs us that "They didn't ask any questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed."

A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, also fisherman like their father before them (and probably like his father before him). They were involved in a family-operated business; but when Jesus made them the same offer, they jumped at the chance for a new beginning.

Today is a day of new beginning for the North Webster Church of the Brethren. You have called Greg Spry to be your pastor and he has accepted that call. Although Greg previously was a member of this congregation for a couple of years and was licensed to the ministry here in 1995, and has served as your interim pastor for the past 6 months, this is indeed a new beginning for both Greg and the North Webster congregation. And if you do indeed follow in the way of Jesus, your ministry together will undoubtedly bring change.

May your focus, together, be that of Jesus as he ministered in Galilee: to teach people the truth of God. Like Jesus, make God's kingdom your theme. Work together to heal people of the bad effects of their bad lives. And I pray that Matthew's words describing the results of Jesus' ministry in Galilee might also be applicable to your ministry in this community: "More and more people came, the momentum gathering."

I want to turn now, very briefly, to the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount as recorded in chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel. We have commonly called these the Beatitudes, though this morning I would refer to them as the Blessings of Ministry.

These "Blessings" are addressed to those who are disciples of Jesus, or as translation restates it: "those who were apprenticed to him," his climbing companions. Whether we think of ourselves as "Disciples of Jesus," or as "Those apprenticed to Jesus," or as his "Climbing companions," may we hear these "Blessings" as ours today.

#1 "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope."

Greg, there will be times when you feel like you are at the end of your rope. You run out of ideas that work, no one seems to take your leadership seriously, and you begin to wonder why God ever directed you to North Webster.

Likewise, as a congregation, there are times when it seems you are doing everything right: you seek to share your witness in the community with a float in the Mermaid Festival, you distribute church brochures at the fairgrounds (in both English and Spanish), you share a witness through your puppet ministry to young and old alike, and you invite your neighbors and friends to church; but nothing seems to work.

Remember, in those moments, this Blessing of Ministry: You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope."

There is a poster which shows a cat hanging by its claws to the end of a branch, with the caption: "Hang in there!" We all have experienced moments when it seems a real struggle just to "Hang in there."

In moments like those, and countless others, you will find blessings; for as Jesus' teaching continues: "With less of you there is more of God..." We all need to be reminded from time-to-time to get out of the way and let God work through us.

#2 "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are -- no more, no less."

Greg, you are a unique and wonderful person created in the very image of God with gifts and ideas to share with those around you. Be who you are and be all you can be but don't even try to be who you aren't. Your gifts are sufficient for the tasks that lay ahead. As you find opportunities for ministry for which you do not have the needed gift or skill, remember that this is the Body of Christ where each one of us has unique gifts meant to be shared so that, together, we may continue the work of Jesus.

To each one of you, I say: Together, you are the body of Christ. Individually you have many and unique gifts, but only when you are working together do you become the body of Christ. Understand yourself to be a person created in the very image of God and accept your skills and talents as a gift from God to be used to build up the Body of Christ.

And the blessing is that the moment you can accept yourself as who you are is the "moment you become the proud owner of everything that can't be bought."

#3 "You're blessed when you care."

Greg, you are a caring person. That, I am sure, will become even more evident as you continue to serve with this congregation which is also made up of people who care. As you continue your ministry at North Webster, be real with these people in a caring sort of way and let each of them, in turn, become real and caring to you. Perhaps this can best be illustrated by sharing an excerpt from a story which many of us love.

In her story of The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams tells of a little boy who received a Velveteen Rabbit among his Christmas gifts. For at least two hours the Boy loved him and then ... the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten. For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor. ... Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin-Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become REAL. It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you are REAL, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Something of the same thing could be said about the relationship between a pastor and a congregation. A REAL pastor has very little to do with how you are made, ie. how tall or good looking you are, or your "Pulpit Voice", or even your theological training; becoming a REAL Pastor is something that happens to you. It grows out of your love and caring for people and their love and respect for you. It doesn't happen overnight, it takes time...sometimes a long time. And generally, by the time you become a REAL Pastor your hair has fallen out, your eyesight is not so good, and yes, you may even get a little wobbly in the joints.

Which is to say to you, Greg, and to the North Webster congregation, it will take time for this pastoral relationship to develop and grow. Becoming a congregation's pastor is not as simple as a call vote, signing a contract, and holding an installation service. Rather it grows out of a mutual love and respect and caring for each other.

"You're blessed when you care," said Jesus. "At the moment of being care-full, you find yourself cared for." That is a blessing, Greg, I believe you will experience as you continue your ministry with the North Webster congregation. This is the blessing this congregation will receive as they enter into this relationship with you. And this is the blessing that will grow as you grow in mutual love and respect for each other.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesian Church (4:15-16), said it this way:
"...speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love."

Which leads me share just one more of Jesus' Blessings of Ministry today....

#4 "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family."

This is God's family, and like in all families there are times when family members compete with each other over the most trivial things ... and even times when we find ourselves in inner-family fights.

Greg, you are now a member of this family - God's Family in North Webster. You now become both a part of the problem and the solution to the family feuds that go on in this place. As a pastor, you bear responsibility to teach the ways of Christ and to provide Christian counsel, to bring healing to broken relationships between individuals and God and between members in conflict.

As a congregation we need to remember the words spoken by the Apostle Paul to the Church at Corinth when he said: "God ... has given us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18) Likewise, we need to hear his words to the Ephesian Church: "I ... beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called ... bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3)

The "Blessing" comes when we are able to cooperate instead of fighting; for that is when we discover who we really are as God's People and what it means to have a place in God's Family.

This is a day of new beginning, this is a "Blessed Day" at North Webster. It is my prayer that as you continue to minister together as pastor and congregation, you will discover the Blessings of Ministry" shared by Jesus in these verses from the Sermon on the Mount. In that vein, let me conclude with these additional words of Jesus that speak to the ministry of this congregation in this community:

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning
that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness,
how will people taste godliness?" (Matthew 5:13 The Message)

Sermon by Herman Kauffman
Installation of Greg Spry
North Webster Church of the Brethren
October 27, 2002