Living a Life from Invitation

I understand that what I am about to do may be a bit of a deviation from what we have normally come to expect in a sermon time, but please bear with me. Now that I have your attention; I want you to play a little word association game with me. I am going to say a word, and I want you to respond, out-loud, with the first word that comes to mind. I promise no tricks. There are no right or wrong answers, just say the first thing that pops into your head. It’s OK to talk. Ready?

God. Jesus. Church. Mission. Stewardship. Ah yes. Stewardship; it is that wonderful, exciting, magical time of year, where we have to talk about, and think about, money. Right? Well, actually no. But I think it can come across that way. My dad likes to refer to any sermon on stewardship as the sermon on the amount. And while money is certainly something that is impacted by stewardship, stewardship is not all about money.

In fact, I have this theory that stewardship is really a big and wonderful thing. We all live with a type of stewardship, whether we are conscious of it or not. Because what stewardship really comes down to is how do we understand our place in God’s kingdom and mission, and how do we participate in those things. Let me state that again. Stewardship really comes down to how we understand our place in God’s kingdom and mission, and how we participate in those things.

This would certainly include money, but it is also much, much bigger than just our bank accounts. We all follow some form of stewardship. The question is what form of stewardship do we follow, and from where do we get it? How do you fit into God’s kingdom and mission? How do you participate in those things? How we answer these questions comes from our stewardship. The way we live out stewardship says a lot about how we answer those questions.

Hopefully you can see that this is indeed much bigger than money. And so we are going to spend some time over the next few weeks answering these questions. Our stewardship emphasis for this year is entitled, Christ in us: Living a Life that Shows Jesus. This happens to fit really well into the season of Epiphany because in the season of epiphany we celebrate how the glory of God is revealed in Jesus. In the season of Epiphany we celebrate how Jesus is shown and made known through his people. He is made known through his church. He is made known through you and me.

I think it is important to make this connection between stewardship and the season of Epiphany because the two fit so well together. There is a certain mission emphasis that the season of Epiphany carries with it. So how appropriate is it to talk about our place in God’s kingdom and mission and how we participate in them?

You will see different items to serve as reminders of these things for you. There is a special insert in the bulletin that you can take home and read throughout the week. Think about what it says; pray the prayer that it offers. Each week during this series we will have one of these inserts available to us to guide us through the week.

This series also has some cool graphics. Not only does it look kind of sharp, but the box there represents us, and the colors, light and streamers represent Jesus shinning through us, which is a nice Epiphany theme by the way. Have I mentioned that before?

The series culminates of Sunday, February 12. We will have a special service in the afternoon followed by a pot-luck. So be sure to sign up for that now, and to mark your calendars now. At the worship service that afternoon there will be a time for us to bring forward our pledge cards and give them to the Lord. Now this card will be your commitment to the Lord and your participation in his kingdom and mission for the rest of the year. Not a bad thing to think about at the beginning of a new year as we think about the things we want to accomplish in a year.

You will make your pledge for offerings, service in the congregation, service in the community, bible study and that good kind of stuff. But here is the thing that is different from the way this has been done in the past. What you fill out on your pledge card will be between you and the Lord. No one else will see it. So you don’t have to worry about what other people will think or say, because what you fill out there will be known only by you and God.

Then, the series will conclude on Saturday, January 6, 2013, which is the day of the Epiphany, when the wise men brought their gifts to Jesus. We will again gather for a special service, party and pot-luck, and on that day you will receive back your sealed envelope. You can open it and celebrate the year of joining God in the work that God is doing in our world.

Sound good? I think it will be a powerful experience for us as we live out our lives as God people. But that is ultimately what we are talking about when we are talking about stewardship. We are talking about how we live our lives. We are talking about life. We are talking about living life as God’s people. We are talking about living a life that shows Jesus. This is very appropriate for a congregation whose vision is “a place for life.”

Today we talk about living a life from invitation. In our scripture lessons for this week we see the young Samuel as God calls him and begins a life of service as one of the greatest prophets ever. In our Gospel lesson we see some of the disciples as they first meet Jesus. Two of them ask Jesus a question. “Where are you staying?” He responds with an invitation. “Come and see.” And out of this they then go to others and extend an invitation of their own. We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Philip responds by asking if anything good can come out of Nazareth. “Come and see,” is the invitation and the response.

Now there are three things to keep in mind as we consider living a life from invitation. First, God invites us to know life and a relationship with him. Second, God invites us to join him in the work that he is doing in our world. Third, in the way that we live our lives, we invite others to see and know of the love, grace, mercy, forgiveness and life that come only through Jesus.

God invites us to know life and a relationship with him. Now this life and relationship with God is something that he has already given to us. He gives this to us freely out of his grace. He gives these to us because of, and for the sake of, Jesus. These are not merited for us by our works or anything that we do, but solely because of the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Because of Jesus, and his righteousness, we have been made right with God. Through our baptism we are able to live life as God’s own dearly loved daughters and sons. Having been given this gift of life, our God invites us to live life in relationship with him. He doesn’t just give us forgiveness and then leave us on our own until we die. But he gives us forgiveness, salvation and life.

We get to experience that life lived in relationship with him, now. We get to grow in it. We get be fed and nourished in this life as God works through word and sacrament in giving and strengthening that faith. We get to walk with our God knowing that he is always with us. He will never give up on us or abandon us. If we ask what our place is in God’s kingdom and mission? It is simply this: we are God’s children. We are sent to make known him and his love, grace, forgiveness and mercy in Jesus.

God invites us to join him in the work that he is doing. God loves his creation. He is not content to simply destroy it and start over because of sin. Instead, he is about the work of restoration and reconciliation. He is at work in bringing the creation back to himself. We see this in the person and work of Jesus, who having won the victory over sin, death and the devil, then sends us out to the world around us to live, and make know this good news.

And as we live and make known this good news, we extend an invitation, just like the disciples did in the gospel, to come and see. Come and see this God who came not to condemn and destroy his creation, but who comes in order to heal and restore it. Come and see this God who loves you more than you will ever be able to imagine. Come and see this God who forgives, restores, and heals you. He has made you his own and gives you the gift of life.

Extending this invitation is something that we do together as a congregation. It is not just the job of the pastor or the professional staff members. But it is something that we all do together. It is something that we do with the words that we speak as we invite friends and neighbors to this place and have them come and see.

It is something that we do as we support the ministry of this place with our time and talents. We all have different gifts and abilities and we all have something to contribute to the ministry of this congregation. It is no mistake or coincidence that you are here now at this time.

It is something that we do as we support the ministry with our finances. Ah, here is the money thing again. But it is important to understand that what happens, what takes place through the offerings that we give is real ministry. You are not just keeping the lights on, but you are enabling the lights to be on so that ministry can take place under those lights. You are enabling this congregation to be about what God is inviting us to do. How much you give is between you and God. But we all give as we are able. We trust that God will provide for every need. And as we do this and live this way, we are living life. And we are inviting others to come and see, and know the one who gives life, and invites us to experience that life lived in relationship with him.

I’m excited about this series. I pray that it will open your eyes to something new and exciting. I pray that you will find a renewed zeal and passion for your living out your place and role in God’s kingdom and mission as we join together as a congregation, and as we join our God in the work that our God is doing in this place. God bless you, now and always. Amen.