The Other Side of Easter: Are We There Yet?

(The audio isn’t as polished as usual, since we worshiped outdoors this Sunday in order to make room for the whole congregation to gather for a single service, in celebration of our mortgage-burning ceremony.)

John 14:23-29

Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

“You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”

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I’d like to think some of you remember some of the things I preach around here, though I don’t know what the statute of limitations is on that – even for myself. There are some sermons I remember from years ago, whenever a particular text shows up in the lectionary again. And other times I’ll come across something I wrote or preached or taught about a text or for a special occasion, but have absolutely no recollection of ever thinking, let alone saying aloud and putting out into the universe from the pulpit.

But, I do remember that when we first moved into the first iteration of our building here at Cross of Grace, the theme of my very first sermon was, “Are We There Yet?” I know some of you remember that moment in our life together, even if what I had to say about it all didn’t stick:

It was Christmas Eve, 2003. The building was finished just “enough” for us to gather on a very cold, very snowy, very icy December 24th. There was no paved driveway, yet. We had to light the frozen, muddy pathway back here with something like a hundred candle-lit milk jug luminaries. Inside, there was no tile or carpet. The walls weren’t painted. We heated the place – sort of – with a couple of industrial-grade propane construction heaters, which I have to believe, looking back on it all, violated more than a few safety codes by someone’s standards.

So it was easy to ask and to wonder in that first Christmas Eve sermon, “Are We There Yet?” because, as proud and accomplished and as close to a finish line as we felt, the obvious answer to that rhetorical question was “No.” There was still plenty yet to accomplish as far as this building and our fledgling little ministry were concerned.

And this is how we’re meant to feel still – and always – when it comes to our life together at Cross of Grace and as Christians in the world.

In this bit from John’s Gospel, when Jesus is praying and saying all of this to his disciples, notice that so much of it is about the future. So much of it is about the promise of what’s to come… about hope for tomorrow… about anticipation of all that is not, quite yet.

“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them…

“…the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you…”

“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

“I am going away, and I am coming to you…”

“And … I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”

Again, it’s all about God’s future, God’s promise of what’s on the way, God’s hope for tomorrow, God’s anticipation of what’s to come. Which to me means, as God’s people in the world, we’re always, always, always still on the way. Even with a mortgage to burn – especially with a mortgage to burn – the answer to the question “Are we there, yet?” is still, “No.”

Because as proud and accomplished as we felt on that Christmas Eve in 2003, we knew we were just beginning in so many ways. And it’s so easy to see how much has changed so quickly in the last 18 years – and how much would NOT have changed had we stopped giving and growing and letting God have God’s way with us around here.

Back then, on that first Christmas Eve in the first phase of our building, we were still under the impression you could have a Christmas Eve worship without hearing Steve Beebe sing “O Holy Night.” (We didn’t know any better because the Beebes hadn’t showed up, just yet.)

Back then, Jackson Havel who graduates on Friday, was in utero, helping his mother light those luminaries up and down the driveway in the freezing cold.

Back then Janis Janelsins was still happily bossing people around … Bernie Augenstein was still greeting everyone who walked through the door, memorizing their faces, and remembering their names … Back then, Linda Sevier didn’t even know she wanted to work in a Lutheran church, let along join one!

Back then, there was no Stephen Ministry. Back then, we hadn’t made a single trip to Haiti, let alone helped to build a brand new Women’s Clinic, a school, or 50 houses with Zanmi Fondwa. Back then we didn’t have a worship band. Back then, Cross of Grace didn’t know Amanda Terrell or Jeannie Ellenberger, we hadn’t met Pastor Aaron, we hadn’t called or sent Pastor Teri, so Roots of Life didn’t exist, either. Back then there was no Food Pantry, or Labyrinth, or Columbarium. Back then Scott Nellis, Emily Michaelis and Kaitlyn Ferry weren’t seminary graduates, either. And I’d like to think we had something to do with inspiring them.

And if none of these names ring a bell … if you weren’t a part of any or all of these memories from back in the day … that’s kind of my point. (In fact, would you please stand if you were NOT a part of our life together at Cross of Grace back in 2003.) Each and every one of you – and the abbreviated litany of things we’ve accomplished over the years – is exactly how I know we weren’t “there yet” when we worshiped in our building on that first Christmas Eve.

So, as we set fire to our mortgage today and celebrate how much more we’ll be able to give away through our Building and Outreach Fund going forward…

As we turn in our General Fund commitments toward the operational budget for the year ahead…

As we return our offerings of Time and Talent, promising to help ministry happen around here in all the ways I hope we will, anyway …

The answer to that question, “Are we there yet?” is still “NO” as far as I’m concerned. There are still too many people who – for any number of reasons – don’t know how much love God has for them. There are still so many houses to build in Haiti and faith communities like Roots of Life to support. There is still room to be made and welcome to be extended and so much grace to share. And there are still so many people – in or coming into our community – who don’t know how much fun and meaning a congregation like ours can bring into their life and for the sake of this world.

So I hope we will do all of what we’re up to today with the same kind of promise, hope and anticipation Jesus was talking about … with the same kind of promise, hope and anticipation with which we’re called to live as God’s people in the world … with the same kind of promise, hope and anticipation that has always inspired and called us forward around here.

Are we there yet? No. We can’t even be sure what “there” looks like these days. But we’ve learned that the way is holy – even when it’s hard sometimes. And we are blessed and better for it when we follow God’s lead. And I’m so grateful to mark this mortgage-burning milestone with each and every one of you, wondering with all kinds of hope about who will join us next, for whatever God has in store, and what the next “there” might look like along the way.

Amen

The Other Side of Easter: Grace Upon Grace

John 13:31-35

When [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him at once.

“Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me and, as I said to the Jews, so now I say to you, ‘where I am going you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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If you’ve been around and paying attention, you know we’ve been talking about what it would/could/should/might look like to live on the other side of Easter whenever we fully embrace and engage the good of news that brings us here, still, so many days after the Big Day of Easter’s resurrection celebration. Again, this is the cornerstone of our faith, the joy of which is meant to linger … to last … to perpetually motivate and inspire and move us to live differently because God has done a new thing with Easter’s resurrection to new life.

Last week, we shared the good news about having paid off our mortgage and about what that will mean for our capacity to give differently to ministries outside of ourselves, through what we’re now calling our “Building and Outreach Fund.” For those of you who weren’t here, the short of the long is that, because we no longer have a mortgage to pay, we’ll be able to transform those offerings into mission and outreach efforts to do God’s work out there in the world.

Well, because next week is our annual congregational meeting and because we’ll be making our financial commitments to the General Fund along with our offerings of Time and Talent, I want to talk about the other side of the same coin when it comes to our financial stewardship around here – the money we give and use for our operational budget at Cross of Grace.

Don’t start snoring yet. And, like I said the first week of this sermon series, if you’re a guest, or new around here, please don’t tune out or log off or leave, just yet, either. I realize this may feel very personal and contextual and unique to our particular ministry at Cross of Grace – like I’m “talking shop” in a way that may not concern you, just yet, if ever. But I believe that if what we’re up to in this little corner of God’s Kingdom is faithful in any way, it would/could/should – it might just – speak to all of us about what God is up to in the world around us.

And I want to start by counting our blessings with a sincere sense of gratitude:

I’m grateful for the other side of Easter – and how that feels like we’re also on the other side of the pandemic. I know it still lingers. I know we just reached a milestone of deaths – just in our own country. I know there are still threats of variants and surges and all that that could entail. But I remain grateful for the spirit of patience, understanding, flexibility, willingness to try new things and mostly the love for one another Jesus was talking about in this morning’s Gospel reading that it took to endure the last couple of years around here – all the masks, and social distancing, online worship, and missed ministry opportunities, I mean.

I’m grateful for the Holy Conversations Gayle Beebe and our Council facilitated, giving us the opportunity to share our dreams and desires with one another in honest, open, faithful ways about all of that.

I’m grateful for all we learned along the way, too, about how to do church and worship differently – that we offer online worship, not just on Sunday morning, but for weddings and funerals, too – and I’m grateful that Stephen Jordan helps make that happen so faithfully.

I’m grateful for our midweek “Lenten Lament” worship series that surprised me, honestly, with how deeply meaningful it was for so many of us.

I’m grateful for those “Age-to-Age” interviews between our Grace Quest kids and some of you older Partners in Mission. Those conversations were fun and beautiful and you can still find them on our YouTube page if you haven’t seen them yet.

I’m grateful for the four young women who affirmed their faith here last Sunday – Lilly, Faith, Saydie, and Ginny.

I’m grateful for the eight young people who celebrated their First Communion on Maundy Thursday – Marloe, Nathan, Brogan, Auggie, Jericho, Mathew, Penelope and Elaine.

I’m grateful for the high school seniors, getting ready to graduate, who’ve found a home here – several who’ve been around long enough, now, to have celebrated their baptism, their First Communion, and their Confirmation here, too – Cassie, Abby, Caleb, Maggie, Jackson, Eli, Katie, Ben, Alaina, Grace, Miles, Alyse.

I’m grateful for the 14 Stephen Ministers we commissioned a couple weeks ago and for those who are prayerfully agreeing to engage that ministry with them in the days ahead.

I’m grateful for all the outside groups who call this place home from one week to the next – the softball and baseball teams, the Boy Scout troops, the AA meetings, 4-H groups, the hundreds of voters who were here a couple weeks ago, and more.

I’m grateful for the families who receive food from our pantry month after month – and for the opportunity we give to people in our community to help stock it and serve in that way.

I’m grateful to be part of a denomination that empowers and ordains women and that, as a congregation, we understand the importance of having women preach, teach and lead however and whenever we get the chance.

I’m grateful for a Church Council and a Congregation that compensates their Pastor and staff well and generously, honoring the Biblical notion that “the laborer deserves to be paid.”

I’m grateful to be a Pastor, from a congregation like ours, who gets called to lead discussions on race and diversity and justice and hospitality with leaders and administrators in our schools.

I’m grateful for the conversations I’ve had with people in our neck of the woods lately, surprising them with the good news that they can be LGBTQ – or any other letter of the alphabet or any color of that rainbow – and be loved and welcomed and celebrated by a Pastor and by people in a church like ours.

All of that is to say that all of this is the kind of ministry our General Fund allows us to accomplish at Cross of Grace. Some of what we do can be found in other ways and places out there in the world. But a lot of what we do – and some of the most important stuff we do – and the spirit of grace upon grace upon grace with which we do it – is utterly unique in Hancock County – the wide, welcome I mean; the women in ministry, I mean; the open communion table, I mean.

And all of it is faithful to what we hear over and over and over again, in Scripture. Peter is talking about “grace upon grace” when he’s convincing the others, in that Acts 11 reading we just heard – that there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles – or any of God’s children for that matter. We try really hard to be like Peter, by asking “who are we to hinder the kind of love and grace God is trying to let loose in the world?”

And Jesus is saying the same when he tells the disciples to love one another the way God has already loved them – without limits, without strings, without condition, in spite of their sins, in the face of whatever is to come, for the sake of the whole wide world.

See, I know that talking about our commitments to the General Fund isn’t as sexy or as fun, on its face, as talking about the Building Fund – or even the Building and Outreach Fund, with all of the percentages we’ll give away “here” or the dollar amounts we’ll be able to share “there.” I don’t have charts and graphs to share this week, like I did last Sunday.

And I’m afraid that when there aren’t bricks and mortar to see and feel, or when we can’t attach a dollar amount to the ministry of love shared at a funeral service or to the wide-welcome extended by way of a phone call or counseling session in my office, or to the public witness of being open and affirming and welcoming to all of God’s people, that we forget or just don’t know about the kind of grace that gets shared around here week in and week out. You can’t capture all of that with a pie chart or with an income and expense report.

So please consider all of that in the days ahead – and as you pray about what your General Fund commitment will be next Sunday. And please pray, too, about if and where and how you’re going to fill out that Time and Talent sheet for the coming year. Cleaning the building isn’t sexy, either. But if it makes one guest feel welcome and safe enough to come back – it matters. Working in the nursery is a sacrifice, I get it. But if it takes care of a child and makes room for a parent to worship in peace and quiet for a change – it is a gift of grace. Mowing the lawn… counting the offering… teaching Grace Quest… serving in any way is a chance to have a stake in what we’re up to around here.

It’s all about not hindering what God is up to… It’s all about loving one another the way God has already loved you… It’s about loving our neighbors the way we have been so loved, ourselves… And it’s about sharing grace upon grace upon grace, in the name of Jesus, crucified and risen for you, for me, for the sake of the world that God so loves.

Amen