It’s All About Relationship
Matthew 2:1-12
A
Sermon Preached by
University
Congregational United
Did you ever here anyone say, “Sit down. I want to tell you something important?” Well, that’s how I feel today. I want to sit down, because I want to tell you something very important.
But before I do, I am so
aware this morning of all the connections and relationships that I have, that
we have, with other people. This stole
around my neck is a gift to all of us from our member, Joy Hamilton, who is in
the Peace Corps in Mali. It reminds us
of our connection to Joy and through her to the people of Mali and West
Africa.
This friendship bracelet I
am wearing is a Christmas gift from my niece, Gretta. It reminds me of my connection to my family.
And yesterday, I ran into a
neighbor friend from
Sometimes, when I don’t know how to pray or what to do with all the prayers in my heart, I cup my hands together. I invite you to do that now. I take a few moments to close my eyes and think about all my connections to my family, my friends, everyone here at church, people in Africa and Asia, people throughout the world….And then I open my eyes and lift up to God all those people into God’s hands who holds us all. I invite you to do that now, to lift up your hands and pass all those people into the hands of God....
This morning, I want to talk to you about the most important thing we do as church. I want to talk to you about the most important word we have in our church community. That word is “Relationship”.
Sometimes when we gather together here at church we think about all the things we do here together. We think about worshipping together, and programs we do together. Sometimes we think about money we need to raise and buildings that we need to take care of – like we will be doing here in the next few months. We sometimes think about education and about mission we do together. But none of those things would happen without relationship – our relationship to God and our relationship to each other.
It’s like Jesus said, the most important thing is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” If we just remembered that the most important thing is our relationship to God and our relationship to our neighbors (whoever those people are that come in and out of our days) why, the rest of the things would just fall into place.
I love the scripture reading for this first Sunday of the new year, this Epiphany Sunday, for the story reminds us that faith is first and foremost all about relationship. These magi I’m sure had lots of “very important” and “very wise” things to be about and be doing, but they put aside all those “very important” things and duties, for the sake of relationship. They traveled together to see this baby, Jesus. In traveling together I am sure they learned lots of things about each other along the way. And in this baby they saw one in whom they saw the very face of God. They left all of their “very important” things for the sake of relationship and their lives were changed forever.
Now no one knows if the magi really existed. I mean, no one interviewed them or anything. But while the story about them may or may not be true, this story happens all the time. I have seen it! I have seen some of you do it. I have seen you and others leave “very important” things and duties for the sake of relationship. I have seen you put down “very important” things for the sake of loving God and loving your neighbor. I have seen that change your lives.
This relationship business is
hard. Five years ago, Dave and I were in the
While we were there, we visited
a school where they were teaching young people how to use computers. Dave and I were very interested in that and
while talking to one of the teachers, we learned he had lived in
Looking around this very
primitive school, in this overcrowded place, I asked him, “What did you miss
here when you were living in the
“The quality of life”, he said.
“What?!”, I wanted to exclaim. “What do you mean, the ‘quality of life?’ – look at this place! You missed the quality of life here – in this overcrowded, poor place?”
He explained. “When I lived in
And he is right. We don’t.
We have lots of “very important” things we are about and doing – but
unlike this man from the
We have to learn, we have to practice being in relationship with each other.
A month and a half ago, Dave
and I and our friend Shelly were sitting in the compartment of a train that was
ready to go from
I have learned a lot from Dave over the years, and one thing I have learned is
about relationship. For relationship is
the most important thing for Dave. He
loves to be with people, talk with people, hang out
with people. He knows it is the most
important thing he can be doing, the most important way for him to live out his
faith. When we have traveled in foreign
countries, Dave takes the time to learn something of the local language so he
can talk to people we meet. He wants to
be able to speak their language and call them by name.
On this day, into our compartment walked a woman in her 70’s with some big bags. We helped her put her bags in the rack above and then sat down. Dave was sitting there fuming- for here was someone we could be talking to and he didn’t have his phrase book!
I am one of those people that some of you have moved away from when visiting foreign countries. I come from the school that if only you speak LOUDLY ENOUGH and s-l-o-w-l-y enough…in English…that people will understand you.
I said to the Italian woman across from me,
ME
NAME PIETRO. ME FROM
Dave covered his head with his hands.
Our friend Shelly stared at me with her mouth wide open.
The woman across from me just looked at me.
And then she started babbling away in Italian.
That afternoon, something broke open for us in that little train compartment. For the next two hours we gestured and spoke in broken sentences and Italian. We learned things about each other. Something broke out between us. Relationship happened. God was made real right there. And a connection was made.
There are many of you here who have been learning about relationship. And this morning I asked six people to share a brief word about what they have been learning from being in relationship with each other as adults and youth.
Bob Fitzgerald and James Murdock.
Kay Sneed and Lizzie Cady.
Tom George and Morgan Shaw.
All of them have been learning about how faith grows. First and foremost, our faith grows and deepens and develops as we are in personal and trusting relationship with each other.
Our society, our nation, our world are in some pretty stuck places right now. We are tearing each other apart in war and violence. We are tearing our earth apart. We are a far way from living in healing ways of justice and peace, in ways that are good for human beings and earth’s creatures.
If only we practiced what Jesus told us to, that the most important thing is relationship. If only we practiced loving God, loving our neighbor – why that would “unstick” our very stuck world. I really believe that.
You six are all about “unsticking” our stuck world.
I love this time of year, for the time of the new year is a time for dreaming. A time to dream big dreams and see if those dreams catch in the imaginations and hearts of others.
Today, I have a dream. I have a dream that our church becomes a place known in our city, our county, even our world, where relationship is the most important thing.
We have about 200 youth and young adults in our church ages 10-21. These 11 years are a time of great tumult and change – more so than any other season of life. What if we as a church committed ourselves to do with each of these children, youths, and young adults what Bob and James, Kay and Lizzie, Tom and Morgan have been doing – to commit ourselves to learn with each other, about each other, about our faith, about our doubts and fears, about being church with and for one another.
What if we did that?
Our faith would be transformed.
Our lives would be transformed.
Our church would continue to be transformed.
And these relationships have been doing just that.
In your pew racks, you will find a yellow prayer chain card. I invite you this Sunday to take that card and to pray if this might be a ministry you are called to. And if it is, I invite you to place your card with your name on it in the offering plate as an offering of yourself to journey with a youth.
This New Year, may we have reminders again and again that the most important thing we can be about is relationship – our relationship to God and to our neighbor, whoever they are and maybe. May we all make that dream real in our lives.
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I hope you will consider being a companion in faith for a youth in our congregation.
You can fill out the card below and put it in my box. A member of the youth board will contact you about next steps. Thanks!
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Your name:
Your phone number:
Yes, I feel called to walk with a youth in their journey in faith!
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