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Some of you may already be aware that today is my final day
to lead worship with you. It’s a bitter-sweet day. It means I am close to
the completion of one journey and the beginning of what that journey was
preparing me to do.
It’s been about three years since Jill and I moved to the seminary in
Decatur, but the journey began long before then. It’s been a long journey,
but at the same time it has gone rapidly. My final class in seminary ends
on May 3rd, I graduate on May 20th, will be ordained
here on May 21st and I’ll be installed at First Presbyterian
Church in Emporia as their pastor on June 4th, Pentecost. I have
spent the last few weeks reflecting on my journey over my lifetime and where
that journey will soon take me. The end of this journey is much like the
beginning; fast, furious and filled with the mystery of what is to come.
It’s been a difficult journey. There have been times when I have been so
exhausted that I didn’t know how I was going to go on. There have been
times when there were so many papers to write or Hebrew words to memorize, I
felt like my head was going to explode. There were times when I didn’t know
how we were going to come up with the money to buy gas or food.
In making the decision to answer the call to seminary, the hardest part was
trying to figure out how to pay for health insurance. This seemed to be the
only item keeping us from making the leap to saying yes to this new
adventure. Well, I’m sure many of you already know, Northminster committed to pay
for our health insurance during our journey through seminary. You made it
possible for us to say yes to God’s call. You made it possible for us to
prepare to be sent out to a community of faith that was being prepared for
our arrival at the same time we were being formed by the Spirit of Christ to
be prepared to live with them and lead them on their spiritual journey.
We got moved into our new home at seminary and it was a little cramped. OK,
it was a LOT cramped. We didn’t want to have to pay for a storage unit to
create some space. We really didn’t have room for the full size beds the
girls had. We sent out an e-mail and suddenly had bunk beds for the girls
and a place to store the stuff that was making our living space too crowded
to be bearable.
I remember our first Christmas at seminary. We couldn’t buy the girls many
presents and we were concerned with how they were going to feel about it.
But, one day in church a couple gave us a sack full of presents for them. Christmas was different at our house that year, but it was still a joyous
time for the children with wonderful gifts from our loving friends.
Rebecca had outgrown most of her church dresses and we were wondering how we
were going to scrounge up the money to go shopping. One day in church, a
wonderful young lady in the congregation gave Rebecca a sack full of dresses
that were exactly the right size.
I was having a rough week during one semester and we were short on money for
food. Jill got the mail and there was a nice card without a return address,
but postmarked from North Metro Atlanta. The card was a great thing to see
in itself, but inside the card was a gift card for Kroger. Just when we
needed it most, there it was.
I could go on forever. God calls each of us and puts people in our paths to
help us respond to that call. Whenever times were the most difficult, there
you were. Whenever money was tight, God put someone in our path to help. Even my assignment of an internship in Kansas was meant to happen. It
was God’s way of enhancing our preparation to serve a church in Kansas.
It’s truly amazing what happens to us as we travel through our lives. What’s most amazing is how little we actually see as we’re traveling along. It’s actually in the peaceful times when we can stop and look back that we
truly see how God has shaped us. I know that I could have missed an atomic
bomb going off while I was running from place to place.
Seminary hasn’t helped me to slow down much. In fact, seminary has been
busier than my life in the corporate world. However, my time at seminary
has helped me to open my eyes more fully to what is happening around me. I
am more aware of Christ’s presence in our daily lives and how we really live
our lives before God. That’s something we often forget. God is watching us
as we journey and Christ’s very spirit is with us as we go along.
In studying the Gospel reading for today, I was able to reflect on how the
journey to Emmaus and the presence of Christ in our lives come together.
When the two were journeying to Emmaus and Christ joined them, their eyes
were so focused on where they were going that they didn’t even notice that
Christ was the stranger in their midst. As we move into today’s gospel
reading, we see that Christ appeared before the disciples to remind them of
what He said to them before He was crucified.
Christ told them and speaks a clear message to us. Disciples are to
proclaim Christ’s name to everyone. If you wish to call yourself a
disciple, you must do this. You are a witness to Christ’s sacrifice and the
saving grace that is found in his love.
Continue to respond to that call of Christ. Christ calls each of you to
tasks as His disciples. Just as Christ called the twelve to witness to the
world, so Christ calls you. To be a disciple you must respond to Christ’s
call to you. You can do that in many ways. You have responded in Christ’s
love to us on our journey. You have prepared us to go and witness to
Christ’s gift of life with the people in Emporia, Kansas. My journey with
you is coming to an end, but what you have done for me will go on.
This journey is a new beginning for me and I encourage you to make it a new
beginning. Seek out another that is called. Make the same offer you did
me. Give them the gift you gave me. Empower them to respond to God’s call
to ministry. I know many of you have sacrificed in times of budget
deficits, the danger of layoffs and so many other difficulties to help us
along our journey. Don’t take this opportunity to stop. Take this
opportunity to step out on a new journey with another,
so that another might
prepare to go out in Christ’s love to serve Christ’s purpose in the lives of
others. Amen. |
