January 6, 2002 Rev. Steve Gehlert Today is Epiphany, the beginning of the season when we celebrate the revelation of God in Christ. Just as the magi came to Bethlehem because they’d seen the light of the star, we’ve gathered here in church to celebrate God's epiphany, God’s revelation, among us as Christ. And yet gathering is not enough. Having gathered, there’s something we’re called to do - go out to share the light that we have seen. That’s why Epiphany is traditionally the season when the church celebrates mission. The time when the church lifts up just what it’s called to be and do. We get our first clue about the nature of that mission is from the story of the magi. They came "from the East." They were not Jews, had no part of the sacred promises of God to Israel. And yet they were the first to bow down and worship the baby Jesus. The magi therefore remind us that God intends for this good news to be spread to all people everywhere. When we hear good news, we want to share it with others. That's us today! We’ve received the good news of Christ. What does it mean to share it? Isaiah, the prophet, tells us when he says, "Arise, shine!" Shine before all people as a testimony to the love and goodness of God! In Epiphany, we celebrate not only the manifestation of Christ to the church, but also the church as God's means of sharing the light of Christ with the world. That means it’s not enough to receive the light, we’re called to share it. Because of Christ, Isaiah’s word is also to us, “Arise, shine!” So, how do we, “Arise, and shine?” How do we fulfill our most basic mission - to let God’s light shine into the world? Epiphany calls us to think about these things as we begin the New Year. A good place for us to start is with what our ancestors said when they formed this congregation 80 some years ago. What they said is in our bulletin every Sunday - their statement of purpose, or mission. It’s something they took time to reflect upon, pray about, struggle with. They didn’t assume, “well, everybody knows what a church is and does.” No! They knew that you have to be clear about what your called to do, what you need to be trying to do, you have to state it, and go back to it again and again, or you will get off course very quickly. We owe it to them, and to Christ who we’ve said we want to follow, to consider what they said. If we do I think we’ll see that they were guided by the Holy Spirit in their work. I invite you to follow along. THE PURPOSE OF THIS CHURCH IS (they were just getting started they said, “shall be”) to establish a Christian congregation for worship, to preach and teach the Gospel of Christ, to celebrate the sacraments, to render loving service toward humanity, to strive for righteousness, justice, and peace, to advance the Realm of God at home and abroad. What did they say first about why they’d come together? “To establish a Christian congregation for worship.” They’d come together, to form a Christian congregation. They’d come together so that in the future they could come together in a way that was worthy of the name Christian. They wanted to be Christian. That may sound obvious, but it’s not. There are lot’s of other things they could’ve wanted to be. But they were saying that only one would do - Christian. This first phrase provides us with the crucial question we can ask in guiding what we do and evaluating what we have done, “is this worthy of the name “Christian?” If it is not, we’ve missed the mark, we’ve lost our way, and we need to re-examine what we’re doing and why. And how can we best be sure that what we are and do is “Christian?” It’s in that same phrase. They formed a Christian congregation, for what? “For worship!” Worship is our first reason for being! The ultimate purpose of all life is to praise and glorify God. That’s what worship is about - praising and glorifying God! In worship we intentionally come together to do what we’re called to do with the whole of our lives - praise and glorify God. And as we do that, it forms us as God’s people. We learn who we are as God’s people and we become that people. We hear the stories, sing the songs, pray the prayers, which help us learn a new truth and live by a different identity. So this first phrase tell us a lot about how we are to “Arise, shine!” and share the light! By making worship the center of our life! Nothing else is more important. That means our most basic commitment as individuals and as a congregation - is simply to be here to worship. We make this commitment - because worship is what we owe God. We make it because worship forms us as God’s people. We make it because worship is our most basic witness to the world. We can do lots of other things with our time, but in making the commitment and sacrifice to be here, we show what it means to bear the name “Christian.” So, we don’t come to worship as consumers, to get something for ourselves. We come to praise to God, to be changed by our praising, and to show that this is what Christians do. Millions have died just to be able to do what we’re free to do every Sunday. What a shame for those who bear the name “Christian” to give it up for golfing or fishing, a wrestling match, a baseball, basketball, football, volleyball or soccer game, or some extra time in the sack! How can we praise God, how can worship change our priorities, what kind of witness can it make to the world, if it is not our first priority? What kind of power can it have to glorify God, to form us, or to witness, if the church gives in to these other priorities, and tries to schedule other worship times so there won’t have to be tough choices and worship can be a convenience rather than a commitment? What a shame too, if other aspects of our ministry and mission create situations which tempt people to do something else rather than worship. Nothing else we might do “for the church” should pull us away from worship. If something does, the church has planned poorly and we’ve not chosen wisely. What did they say next? “To preach and teach the gospel of Christ.” We can’t claim our Christian identity, can’t respond to Christ’s call, if we don’t preach and teach the gospel of Christ. If we’re to live the gospel and bear the name Christian, we have to know what the gospel is. That means our pastors have to be thoroughly and continually educated in scripture. And that we all need to be coming together to learn what the scripture teaches about the gospel and what it means for our lives. Our calendar should reflect this priority. There’s no way around it. Can you imagine saying over and over that you love someone but not knowing anything of where that person was born, who his or her parents were, or where he or she went to school, or what his or her life had been like until you came along, and furthermore, saying that you don’t really care? Could you really love someone if that were your attitude? I suspect your answer is “No!” Yet, the church today seems to have an unending supply of believers who know next to nothing about the one whom they profess to love, and in whom they profess to believe. If we don’t know the gospel, how can we ever hope to love and serve the one who its good news is all about? What was their next reason for forming a Christian congregation? “To celebrate the sacraments.” We need to celebrate Baptism and the Lord’s Supper because they’re God’s gifts to us. Baptism is God’s gift of eternal, unconditional love, which brings us into God’s family, and is the source of our Christian identity. We’re Christians because we are baptized; we baptize because we want to bring others into the family and nurture them in the faith. The Lord’s Supper is God’s gift which makes Christ’s sacrifice for us real and gives us an image of God’s intention for humanity - true communion among all people, in spite of all that might separates. Our light can’t shine if we forget who we are by virtue of our baptism, or we’re too distracted to remember, or we let some other identity or passion claim us. Remember your baptismal promises to nurture our children and ask God’s help to have the courage to be faithful to them in a world that dismisses, mocks, and denies them. Our light won’t shine if we forget either the self-giving love of Christ for which communion is a sign or the unity the meal promises. Come to the table remembering what it tells us God has done for us, and what God wants for us and for all people. The next statement says, “to render loving service toward humanity.” We live our Christian identity, enact what worship calls us to do and be, make real what the gospel proclaims, and truly celebrate the gift of the sacraments, by serving others. We don’t live for ourselves; we live for others, because we live for Christ. So, we think not in terms of comfort, convenience, prestige, security, or success, but in terms of the service to which Christ calls us. Jesus called himself a servant saying, “I’m among you as one who serves.” We too, are in the world, as people who serve. Doing it as Jesus did, welcoming all, accepting all, honoring all. If anyone mocked or dishonored, made in to feel unwelcome in our fellowship, or unworthy of our service, we’re failed. The next phrase is, “to strive for righteousness, justice, and peace.” Righteousness is doing what builds up life. Justice is structuring relationships in ways that sustains life. Peace is life in right relationship with God and others. These are our goals, and all of the programming, planning, budgeting we do, should focus on and further, not obscure or hinder them. Otherwise we lose sight of the work that truly makes us Christian and become something else. The last phrase says, “to advance the Realm of God at home and abroad.” The realm of God, is the rule of God’s love in people’s hearts. Jesus began his ministry by announcing that this realm was “at hand.” His whole ministry was about showing people what it means for God’s love to rule in our hearts. We’re here to share in this on-going ministry of advancing the Realm of God which Christ came to proclaim and inaugurate, and whose victory his death and resurrection, assured. This takes us back to our hearts and who rules there. If it’s not Christ, but something else we want for ourselves, how can Christ’s light shine from us? This calls us to examine every part of our ministry and mission, to see that they express our allegiance to Christ; if they don’t, we may do things very efficiently and well, but Christ’s light will not shine through them. As Christians, we’ve seen something. A light has shone in our darkness. That light is Christ, the light of the world. Having seen the light, we’re called to share it, to be beacons of light which share the good news of Jesus with the whole world. But we can’t beacons if we haven’t got the light. May God help us know the light, remember how it’s come to us and how we’re to share it. Prayer: Almighty God, your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, came into the world, that we might have light in our darkness, life rather than death. Grant that your people, enlivened by the reading and preaching of your word, and refreshed by your sacraments, might rise, might shine forth into all the world the radiance of the glory of Christ. May Christ be seen in us, worshiped by the world, obeyed by all, to the distant ends of the earth, now and always. Amen.

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