Below is the sermon from Youth Sunday at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Knoxville! WOW seniors--Madi Murphy and Elizabeth Menendez--shared the WOW 2014 theme ... A Place at the Table! MADI: May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, God who invites us—each and every one—to the Table. Amen. Think with me about all the tables we encounter in our lives. Kitchen tables surrounded by family members, sharing about everyday activities at school and work. Lunchroom tables at school where school politics often dictate who is in and who is out. Conference room tables at work where plans are made and assignments are doled out. Tables in restaurants where people celebrate or fight or connect or break up. Tables in coffee houses where secrets are shared. Altars—some in churches, some in natural cathedrals in forests or on the coast—where God calls us to a meal of Love. Tables … they shape our lives; they help us know who and whose we are. To better understand, let’s look at the tables in our Gospel lesson. Before diving into the heart of the text, it is important to understand the setting of this narrative. Jesus is on the Mount of Olives with his disciples sharing parables with them. The disciples had no idea this was the last time they would be on the Mount of Olives with their Lord. For in just three short days Jesus would be hanging on a cross. As Jesus was teaching them, he anticipated the darkness and pain that were fast approaching. Jesus’ enemies were finalizing his arrest and execution plans as he was speaking. This, however, did not stop him from sharing with His disciples two very important messages. Jesus begins by sharing a parable—an earthly story with a heavenly meaning—in which the lead characters were, of all things, sheep and goats. His first point was crystal clear: in the end, Jesus, full of truth and grace, will be making the final calls, or as he puts it, “he will be on the throne of Glory, separating the sheep and the goats.” As much as we would like to be calling the last shots, Jesus gets the final say! After Jesus sets the scene, He separates the people into righteous and unrighteous, the sheep and the goats. He turns to those at his right hand, the righteous, and instructs them to come see the place he has prepared for them since the foundation of the world. However, Jesus tells the righteous they inherited the Kingdom of God because when He was hungry they gave him food, when He was thirsty, they gave him water, when he was a stranger they visited Him, when He was naked, they gave Him clothing, and when he was imprisoned, they visited Him. Each of these statements have a common theme…servanthood. The righteous were servants to God’s people. Helping one another heal, carrying each other’s burdens, participating in the simple task of feeding people, saying hi or waving to someone even if they did not know them. These servants did these deeds out of love and selflessness, expecting no gain or reward. These servants made a place at the table for their fellow brothers and sisters. These acts of kindness the righteous performed were not to please Jesus or gain righteousness because they asked the Lord when was it they saw Him in need and lent him a hand. And Jesus answered, ”Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Daily the righteous participated in unconscious, selfless, but praiseworthy acts all out the goodness of their hearts, made right by the grace of God. Likewise, he shares with the unrighteous the opportunities they missed … the famished who went hungry, the parched who went thirsty, the lonely and those cast aside who remained unfriended. It might be easy to stop there, but the story Jesus shares is about far more than judgment in the distant future; it is an invitation to bring God’s kingdom to earth right now by seeing the opportunity to respond to those in need, to invite them to God’s table where material needs such as food and water and clothing are plentiful, where emotional needs such as friendship and unconditional love and unmerited grace abound. At this table, the ground is level, and the powerful and the powerless sit side by side. Yes, Jesus is telling His disciples this because He wants them to bring the Kingdom of God to everyone, everywhere daily. Jesus wants people to be able to understand what the Kingdom of God is about through servanthood. Since that moment on the Mount of Olives, believers—you and me—have been called to serve one another. God has a vision that everyone would have a place at His table, and through servanthood, we are called to make a place at the His table for EVERYONE. ELIZABETH: We hope to live this out this summer through the day in, day out activities of Win Our World (WOW) Urban Ministry. WOW is not just a summer camp to many of the teenagers here at St. John’s, but it’s a family. This summer we have chosen the theme of “A Place At The Table” to reflect that feeling so many of us have of being part of a family. Growing up in this church I was blessed to be a part of it and was more than excited to begin working on staff this upcoming summer. The Theme “A Place at the Table” was one that we felt encompassed what WOW is as a community. Many of us today struggle to find where we belong and how we may belong there; in high school we try to find that one group of friends that will accept us for who we are even if that means changing what other’s see of us. In College we allow ourselves to branch out and grow up trying to find that one thing we are passionate about and could share with the world. In the “Real World” we may even continue to find our passion and ourselves and possibly still never find it. Granted I have only ever experience one of these three things so far, but the anticipation of the later two makes me excited and nervous all at the same time. I hope that one day I will find my passion and who I am, but for right now I can start by finding where I belong at God’s table and how I can contribute. When we decided on the theme of “A Place At The Table” we wanted to make others think about not only finding themselves at the table but how they can accept other’s at the same table. Being a part of God’s table means forgiveness and willingness to see past other’s flaws and mistakes. Those groups of friends in high school we may or may not have really liked in the end are the same ones sitting next to us at God’s table. Those zany and quirky professors we may not have agreed with in college are the same ones sitting across from us and providing the stimulating conversation at God’s table. Those coworkers that you find so irritating and butt heads with on a daily basis are the same ones making those terrible jokes that everyone finds hilarious at God’s table. In the course of your life you meet people you don’t agree with or just don’t think are morally right in your opinion but accepting them for who they are is what being a part of God’s table really means. Those people who would go out of their way to help you out are sitting right next to the ones who simply ignore the problems we face. I’m not saying we should ignore those who do wrong, but rather forgive them for what they have done and make peace with it. Being a part of God’s table is just a bout this. You forgive and consider just what others have done when you sit next to them at His table. Discovering where and how others fit at God’s table is just as important as finding yourself at the table as well. Every day we encounter people who are entirely different from who we are and sometimes that makes us uncomfortable. Branching out of our comfort zones and being accepting of all is something to which we are all called. The age-old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” could not ring more true. As we live our lives, it’s easy to make snap judgments without even considering how we too are alike. The bottom line is we are all God’s children no matter what. There’s a place at the table for everyone. As I think about how this summer will unfold, a quote by Howard Zinn, a progressive historian, comes to mind. He says “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” I pray it is so; I pray we can work with God to bring his kingdom to earth each and every day. MADI: So let’s pull all of this together. Jesus has called us, His sheep to serve one another. WOW literally gives food, water, and clothing but maybe you have been called in a different way. Helping a co-worker finish his or her assignment on a Friday afternoon, buying dinner for a friend, listening when someone needs to vent are all examples of servanthood. It does not matter whether the person you are helping is homeless, a CEO, your best friend, or your spouse; when you help them and lend your services you are giving them a place at not only your table but the Lord’s table were they can feel welcomed and loved. It’s like Shane Claiborne writes in his book Irresistible Revolution: “And I think thats what our world is desperately in need of—lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about.” This is a picture of Jesus; this is a picture of those in the parable who responded with compassion. May it also be a picture of you and me, of this congregation! Amen!
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 12:30:35 +0000
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