Serve Joyfully

Yesterday in the sermon ‘The Advocate’ I mentioned that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth that advocates for Life.  To advocate for Life in the theological sense is not referring to one issue but is a holistic affirmation.  The Holy Spirit is our Advocate in our own life as we discern how to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.  Jesus who was raised from the Dead to Life! Belief in the Resurrection of Christ is paramount to the faith that advocates for Life. 

Jurgen Moltmann in The Source of Life; “True Easter faith is the work of the Spirit, for believing in Christ’s resurrection doesn’t mean affirming a historical fact, and saying ‘Oh really?’ It means being seized by the life-giving Spirit and experiencing ‘the powers of the world to come’ (Heb 6:5) in our own living and dying.” (italics added).

Moltmann’s statement might be stunning to someone whose religion focuses exclusively on an intellectual understanding.  However, as United Methodists with Wesleyan theology we have a long history of being led to put our faith in action.  The Wesley brothers showed us how to live out our beliefs through social engagement.  John and Charles in 1700s England must have looked like they were “being seized by the life-giving Spirit’’ (or quite frankly out of their soundness of mind) when they had the audacity to visit prisoners, pray with the hospitalized, preach in the fields, sing in the pubs, educate the child chimney sweepers, and even travel across the pond to those heathen rebels in Georgia! Indeed, the Wesley brothers were staunchly criticized for these departures from the normal Anglican way of being priests.  To literally leave the ivory-tower pulpit, walk down its’ stairs and out the door of the white-washed chapel into the filthy streets with common people was against the way the Church of England had always done things!

And yet, it is precisely those kinds of ‘outside of the church’ ministries that I have found the most meaningful and often times the most joyful.  Especially in moments where there is no other sensible explanation for what is happening other than that God must be at work, the Holy Spirit must have taken over! (like the story I shared yesterday about meeting ‘Ruby’; the elementary school girl with a walker and leg-braces.) It is my experience that the most powerfully ministry takes place when I get out of the way, or at the least when I intentionally set my ego aside. In turn, these experiences then bring me joy because I acknowledge how incredibly little ‘I’ had to do with it! To put it another way, when I am reminded that God is doing something so so much bigger than I can possibly conceive, it is a true joy to even have the ability to realize God is up to something. Because so many of you, the active members of FUMC Farmersville, volunteer and participate in so many organizations that are vital to the livelihood of our community I know you can relate to what I’m attempting to describe.  This too brings me great joy! It is an incredible honor to be in ministry with individuals who on a daily basis make Farmersville a little bit more like the Kin-dom of God! Furthermore, it is apparent that none of whom I am speaking of do these things for their own glory, but for the glory of Jesus the Christ.  (see Phil 1:3-6 and 1 Thess 1:2-8).  When we remember that everything, even Life itself, is a gift from God then what a joy it is to participate in our small part of giving something back to God.       

Yesterday’s scripture proclaimed to us, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). Within the lectionary scripture for this Sunday 5/17 is John 17:3; “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Wow, from the mouth of our Savior we have the profound statement, eternal life IS knowing Jesus. We can serve joyfully knowing that when we put our faith in action we are experiencing eternal life, here and now! A joy indeed.

If you or someone you know is looking for a church that is striving to transform the world into the kin-dom of God, that puts their spoken beliefs into practical action, that ‘walks the walk’… Look no further then FUMC, ‘The Heart of the City.’ Home of the Farmersville Outreach Alliance, CommonGoodMedical, One Day Warriors’ AA, Angel Tree… and some hardworking leaders in our community.