Preaching Resources

Preaching Mission for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost (October 13, 2024)

(Through donations to the Board of  World Mission, bags of rice and beans are being delivered to flooding victims in Honduras and Nicaragua)

The Church of What’s Happening Now
By Bishop Chris Giesler

Assigned Text: Mark 10: 17-31

Many Christians can become entirely preoccupied with yesterday. We love history, heritage, and the Moravian Church. And I am not saying that this isn’t important. Our forefathers and mothers have taught us a lot and gifted us with where we are today. It is essential to study them to understand their motivations, callings, intentions, and methods. But we miss the point when traditions and history are the only things we focus on.

On the other hand, many of us Christians are in the faith game to reassure ourselves about the future.  We see it as an insurance policy or a get-out-of-hell card. We have our eyes fixed on heaven and our first-class ticket to eternity. And yes, heaven is good news!  But if that is all that we focus on, again, we have missed the point.  As a child, I enjoyed watching the Flip Wilson Variety Show on TV.  Flip Wilson was an African-American comedian, and his shows featured his stand-up comedy, musical guests, and a series of recurring characters that took the leading role in skits.  One such character was Pastor Leroy, the pastor of “The Church of What’s Happening Now.” That church name has always stuck with me, and I am thinking this is the church we all need to be a part of.

In our Gospel lesson from Mark chapter 10, the rich young man who comes running to Jesus is stuck in the church of what happened yesterday and the church of eternity.  He is most definitely not part of the “Church of What’s Happening Now!”

Let’s take a look at this young man.  It is odd that any person of his wealth status would be seen running to someone else, much less Jesus.  They would pay somebody else to run for them and ask Jesus to meet them on their ground.  But this young man runs and kneels before Jesus, perhaps a sign of at least some humility.

So, he runs to Jesus, kneels before him in the middle of the road, and asks a sincere question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He was a man of devotion to his faith and a follower of the law as he understood it. Jesus asks him to remember what the Bible said: You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.” “I have kept all of these since my youth,” the young man responds.  This is confirmation that he is a man of great devotion. We can, without a doubt, conclude that he did not come to Jesus to ask a trick question.  He came with an honest question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

What we know so far is that this was a man of great humility; he had many possessions, and he was devout in his faith.  By our standards, we would have to say that he had it all. I would say he’s got it. But this young man knows that something is missing, doesn’t he?  He realizes that his wealth has not made him happy, his status has given him no meaning, and his adherence to the rules of religion has not brought him spiritual fulfillment.

 “What must I DO to receive eternal life?” What must I DO? It is a pretty telling word, this DO. What rule must I keep for God to be pleased with me?

Jesus says, you lack one thing; sell your many possessions, give the money to the poor, and come and follow me.  To me, that sounds like three things: sell, give, and then follow.  The most important thing is to follow.  The first thing, “sell,” is the stumbling block.  The second thing, “give,” is the charity.  And the last thing, “follow,” is the one most important thing.

The sad part is that the man walked away grieving because he loved his worldly goods more than the deeper things of life. He could not get past his own stumbling block.

What is your stumbling block?
What is your charity?
How can you best follow?

There is a song by a Christian recording artist named Brian Syrchio titled “87 Times.” And it notes that in the four Gospels, Jesus says “Follow me” 87 times.  The words of the chorus go like this:

Am I following Jesus, or just believing in Christ?
‘Cause I can believe and not change a thing,
But following will change my whole life.
Jesus never said, come, acknowledge my existence
Or believe in me, I’m the 2nd person of the Trinity.
But 87 times, he said… Follow me.

Those are powerful words—challenging words if we are among those who do “believe” but don’t follow Jesus’ life and witness to deeply care for those at the margins of our society and change the structures of oppression that keep marginalized persons in those positions.

Let me encourage you to celebrate our remarkable Moravian history and heritage.  Let me encourage you to rejoice in the heavenly reward that is ours through the grace of Jesus Christ. But let me implore you to follow Jesus and become part of the “Church of What’s Happening Now!” The church that reaches out to the needs of others. The church that welcomes those who suffer.  The church that offers a cup of cold water to the thirsty, and food to the hungry.  The church that follows in the footsteps of Jesus. The church that is making God’s love real in the world today. The church of what’s happening now.