Readings:
Proverbs 22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Psalm 125; James 2.1-10 (11-13) 14-17; Mark 7.24-37
From Pastor to Pauper
Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning’s service. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service. Only three people out of the 10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food….NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back. He greeted people only to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.
As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation… “We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek”
The congregation looked around, clapping with joy and anticipation.
The homeless man sitting in the back stood up… and started walking down the aisle… the clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him… he walked up to the altar, took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment, then he recited …
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all that he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry, and many heads were bowed in shame… he then said, “Today I see a gathering of people… not the church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples… when will YOU decide to become disciples?” He then dismissed the service until next week.
Being a Christian is more than something you claim to be. It’s something you live by and share with others.
This story was put on Facebook in 2013, and in the first hour it had2 million hits.
It resonated.
This story was written by P-Dub as a reflection of the loneliness he felt inside his own church. He is not a pastor. He attended big churches in his hometown of San Jose feeling “broken hearted, lonely, depressed, and searching for God.” He says, “Sadly, every time I would walk out of the church, I felt worse than then I walked in.”
He was unknown. When you are one unknown face amongst so many, we can forget to greet each other, even at church. And while we may crave bigger numbers here, it is worthwhile remembering the blessings of being a family-sized church, such as being known.
I am delighted that you are known for your welcome. The three top values to come out of our Visioning Day yesterday are Belonging, Love and Compassion, and Discipleship. You truly do embody these values.
I’ve been to churches, and I’m sure you have too, where the people tell themselves how welcoming they are, but they rarely examine that narrative. They are very welcoming to each other, but to the stranger? Not so much.
At conference the other week, Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, the biblical scholar who led our bible studies, told of the importance of the welcomers. She said that she went to a church one Sunday because she was preaching and the sides-persons/welcomers were chatting to each other, saw her and her daughter, gave them the books they needed without a word, then turned back to each other and continued their conversation. Her daughter said that if this was their local church, she’d never go back.
Miranda’s reminder to us clergy was that the welcomers’ job is often times the most important part of the service, much more than the sermon.
Yesterday one of our action items has us thinking about how we can extent our welcome, the love and compassion that already exists here so beautifully, beyond our walls and take it out into the world, specifically Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre or surrounds. To be the face of Jesus Christ to those who are feeling lonely and who are isolated.
There are five actionable items from yesterday and you can see all of them on the wall in the hall. I’ve written the names of the person heading up each idea as well so that you know who to talk to should you wish to be involved.
Today is AngliCare Sunday. In our Season of Creation the theme is Act in Solidarity with the Poor. Our readings connect the importance of affording each person the dignity of someone who bears the image of God. James shows us how easily we fall into the trap of preferential treatment of those whom we think are more deserving. It is an easy trap to fall into. I’m sure that all of us do it when we aren’t so mindfully present here.
Even Jesus was susceptible as is shown in the Gospel reading today. His interaction with the Syrophoenician woman appears in both the gospels of Mark and Matthew. The account in Matthew is more confronting because as Jesus and his disciples are walking, the woman is calling out after them and they all ignore her! Sounds familiar to the story told earlier. It isn’t until the disciples are irritated so much that they tell Jesus to send her away. Which he does, calling her a dog in the process, just as he does in Mark’s account. But this woman forces Jesus to see her.
Jesus has a beloved saying, ‘those with ears, hear; those with eyes, see.’ This story tells me of Jesus own conversion. This story tells me of the very humanness of Jesus being raised in his own time and place and having the views of his own time and place. But what this woman does is remind him of her dignity as a bearer of the image of God, and reminds Jesus of his own image of God, which of course is his divinity.
He sees her. He sees her because she pesters him.
Let’s pester Jesus. For ourselves and for those who do not know Jesus in order to pester him.
A lot of the work that AngliCare does is pestering Jesus for the sake of others. But they go much further than that. Last year Anglicare supported 48, 300 people through their services in residentials aged care, home and community services (by far the largest arm), out of home care for children, social services, and mission, research, and advocacy.
Their latest project is to tackle youth homelessness. They are raising $13 million to fund the building of a housing service for homeless youth in Logan. The information on how to donate is on the Gazette.
Let us continue to have eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart with enough courage to face the stranger knowing they bear the image of God, just like us.
Let us pray: Compassionate God, on this Anglicare Sunday, we give thanks for Anglicare Southern Queensland. Bless their ministry with wisdom, resilience, and an unwavering commitment. Inspire them to bring healing and hope to the vulnerable. Strengthen us to support and uplift them in their mission. We pray in the name of the one who went to the least, the lonely, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
https://selahone.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/fictional-object-lesson-goes-viral-2-million-hits-in-the-first-hour/
https://anglicaresq.org.au/youth-homeless-accommodation-build/