I Am the Church You Are the Church;
Who is the Church?
Rev. Eugene N. Nelson, Jr.
The Community Church of Sebastopol
June 7, 2009 Ordination of Jean Boal
John 15:1-5
I need to begin this afternoon with just a little pastoral - maybe preacherly - honesty. And that is, I've really struggled with this sermon. I have made more false starts than Charlie Brown trying to strike up a conversation with the Little Red Haired Girl. It just hasn't come easy for me. For a while I really wondered if it would come at all. And I wonder why. I have preached ordination sermons before. I've preached a lot of sermons before. Why so much difficulty with this one? Maybe it's because I have known you and Jeff for so long and so well. Maybe it's because I've been trying too hard - if ever I wanted a service to be perfect, this is the one. Maybe it's because of all the guests here today, all the visiting preachers here today thinking, geez, I could have preached that sermon. Maybe that's why I've struggled so. But in fact, and here comes the honesty, I know why it's been difficult. I don't want you and Jeff to go.
Jean, our families have known each other for so long. You and Betty were pregnant at the same time. Our youngest children are the same age. We've been through so much. We've shared so much. In recent years, I've seen your own false starts and uncertainty as you wondered about the path you would take. The questions, should I enter seminary or not? Deciding to enter seminary at not exactly a young age. Working so hard, you know, putting yourself out there, wondering, is the ordained ministry for me? Is the parish ministry for me? Think of the in care interviews, the struggle with the ordination paper, the Ecclesiastical Council, then the call to the Weaverville UCC. Now here you are today, about to be ordained to Christian ministry. What an incredible journey, and it's been such a privilege to share it with you. And along the way you have been a source of inspiration and admiration for many of us. We are so proud of you, we are so pleased for you. I know I couldn't have done what you have done. I would never have even tried it.
And yet, having said that, I really cannot wrap my brain around what this church, this town, my life is going to be without the Boals in it. I'm in deep denial here. When the chair of the Weaverville search committee called me, I really wanted to say, "She is not available and you can't have her." And then I thought of saying, "There are no Boals in Sebastopol!" But even as I say that, I am also reminded of some words of Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann, one our UCC scholars: "There is nothing sadder than the uncalled - the unsummoned - life." You have heard the call, you have felt the summons, and how can anyone say no to that? A new journey begins today and our prayers and our blessings are with you. There may be a few tears to be sure, but really we are so excited for you.
Ordained ministry. Pastoral ministry. My God Jean, what have you done? Now it begins. What to say? Actually, I think Jesus has already said all that needs to be said. "I am the vine, you are the branches. Abide in me and I in you. Apart from me you can do nothing." I am the vine, he says. And, as humbling as it may be for you preachers and even you church members to acknowledge you are not the vine, I am the vine. That is Christ's word for us. And I know that. I believe it. But, after all these years, I confess that more often than not I don't live that way, and I don't always minister that way. Too often I act as if I am the vine, as if it all depends on me, as if nothing will happen without me. It's one of the great temptations of ministry.
And so you preach the sermon on Sunday, maybe you even plan a morning Sunday School lesson. And, all in all, you think you did pretty well. Then here comes Monday again. And there is that church council meeting, and then there's the budget committee to sit through, and there's that Bible study to plan. Then you take three phone calls from people worrying about the pot holes in the parking lot, two from choir members who don't like the music they've been singing, and then someone sticks his head in your door to inform you that both the toilets are clogged and what are you going to do about it. And if Weaverville is anything like my first church, there are only are two toilets and the Women's Fellowship luncheon begins in an hour. You think to yourself, I've got to get away. I've got to get out and do some real ministry. Well, Mrs. Smith has been in the hospital in Redding, and you have been meaning to see her. This is the day. You get in the car, drive all the way to Redding only to discover that she was discharged an hour ago. Great, you've driven all that way, you've gone to all that trouble, and now you aren't even going to get any credit for it. Oh, you can tell her you tried to see her, but it isn't the same. How easily we slip into the habit of believing and acting as if we are the vine and it all depends on us. And how exhausting that can be.
A number of years ago, L.D. Johnson wrote an essay, "What is Church?" I'm not sure he answered all my questions about church, it is a pretty ambitious topic, but one thing he said was this: "Church folks often act as though the Lord is not involved with the church. Christ said, 'I will build up my church,' but we listen to the words and then say, 'Now let's get on with our own agenda.' The church is his, but we behave as if it were ours and that we have to save it if it is to be saved. Pastors talk about 'my people,' and lay persons make pronouncements about 'such and such is not going to happen in my church.' That is foreign to the New Testament, which plainly states that the church is Christ's, and we are privileged to enjoy its shelter."
One of my favorite curmudgeons in ministry, United Methodist Bishop, William Willimon, says that, after a sermon, whenever someone tells him "I didn't understand a word you said," or "I just didn't get it," he likes to answer, "Hey, it's not my Gospel. You didn't like the sermon? Take it up with Jesus." Well, that may not be exactly what you might want to say on a Sunday, but it does serve as a reminder that finally the church and its good news are not ours. We - clergy and laity - are not the vine. We are the branches. And just as a branch will wither and die if separated from the vine, so we cannot live and be fruitful in our churches, our ministries, if we lose our attachment to the vine that is Christ. "I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord. No tender voice like Thine can peace afford." By God's grace, may we not forget that.
And one final thought. Note that Christ did not say, "I am the vine you are the branch. A healthy vine consists of a number of vital and healthy branches, each contributing to the good of the whole.
I don't know if you have been watching the NBA playoffs (Lizann, that is the National Basketball Association, the big round ball. The devil made me do that, I'm sorry.) Lebron James just completed what was one of the most remarkable performances in play-off history. He scored, rebounded, passed, played defense - it was an absolutely dominating performance. It will be talked about for years. But his play-off run is over. His team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, lost to the Orlando Magic in six games. He did everything, and more, than one player can do, but by himself, he could not lead his team to victory. Imagine that.
Jean, what a sacred trust is the call to parish ministry. You are the one who has been called. The good folks of Weaverville have granted you the authority to speak to them. They look to you to have the words, to relate the Gospel word to their hopes and fears, their dreams and disappointments. They look to you to help them find their place in the text, in the story. Important work; again, sacred work. But never forget, may none of us ever forget, that we are still just one of the branches, and that all the branches, even the ones that drive us absolutely crazy - I admit it, there are days when I think ministry would be a lot easier and more peaceful if I just didn't have to deal with people. Just last week I heard a preacher say, "You know, If you are going to be the light of the world, then you have to expect to attract a few bugs." But, all the branches are precious and necessary, all in need of this Gospel, and we need them. We can do more, we can accomplish so much more, together than we can ever accomplish on our own.
Even Willimon, who is so often critical of the church, writes, "There is no such thing as a 'solitary Christian.' (or preacher) The faith must be shared in order to be kept. Christianity is a social religion. But true to our ruggedly individualistic self-centeredness, we have tried to practice the Christian faith as if it were a home correspondence course in self-improvement. The great heresy in American popular religion is the notion that religion is a private affair, a secret contract between the believer and God. It is not! The church is, above all, a people, not isolated individuals. The Christian life is not an easy one, the world being what it is, we being what we are, we need each other." The vine and the branches - a community growing and ministering together in faith, interconnected and interdependent, again, accomplishing together what we could never accomplish alone. A good description for a basketball team and not a bad description for a church. And maybe, just maybe, even a glimpse of the kingdom.
The 5th Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City has been a leadership church for years. A strong church, most people would think a wealthy church. But they, like many of our churches, have been having their challenges, financial and otherwise. Not long ago they called a new minister. Really, his call was: we want you to set things right, get this ship back on its course. Not long ago, he was reflecting on his first few months at 5th Avenue Presbyterian. He said he would go into a finance committee room meeting and the treasurer would say, "Well, we can move some money here and move some money there and everything will be fine if another shoe doesn't drop." A month later he would say, "Well, we moved a little money, we did a little more of this and I think we'll be all right if another shoe doesn't drop." This kept going on and finally the minister said, "One afternoon I went in my office and closed the door. I said, "God, I know you called me here and it's a challenge. Maybe harder than I thought but I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to be faithful to my call. But please God, no more shoes! That afternoon, the custodian, stuck his head in the office. "Would you come downstairs to the homeless center?" There is a little homeless service center there, food, clothing and things. The pastor went down. Two members of the New York City Police Department were there. They said, "Pastor, we've just uncovered a counterfeit shoe operation down on Long Island. We know you help the homeless. So we thought you could use these. We have brought you 500 pairs of counterfeit Timberline shoes. What a sense of humor God must have.
You never know what God is going to be up to. In God's economy, it is always an economy of abundance - it's true in New York, it's true in Sebastopol, it's true in Weaverville, it's just true. And so Jean - trust in the vine; trust in the branches; and trust in the abundance and generosity of a God who always will provide.