Gospel Reading: Mark 10:46-52
46 They came to Jericho. As {Jesus}and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” 50 So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Sermon
- There are a lot of things that make this election season unique, but one thing that makes it similar to every other election season is that candidates are making big promises about what they can do for you,
- They want you to know how much better off you will be in 4 years if you vote for them
- People have always looked for leaders who can make promises about the future, and hopefully keep those promises.
- The people who met Jesus in his travels responded to him in very much the same way: they wondered what he could do for them.
- They hoped he could meet their needs in various ways; and in chapter 10 of Mark we have a series of little stories about that
- Everyone wanted something from him
- The Pharisees wanted him to say something self-incriminating him so they could attack his reputation on Fox News
- The parents wanted their children to be blessed with affordable childcare and the Child Tax Credit
- And the children wanted a more proactive policy to combat climate change
- And for their government to stop sending weapons to kill Palestinian children
- The rich young man wanted to know how he could keep all his wealth, avoid inheritance taxes, but also live a righteous life
- Even the disciples, as you heard last week, wanted to know if, by giving up everything: family, money, livelihoods, they could get positions on the Cabinet of a coming administration that would promote their social status
- In each instance, the people around Jesus were trying to figure out what he could do for them, and whether he would “get their vote” of trust.
- Everyone wanted something from him
- And no wonder! Jesus had an amazing skill set!
- He could walk on water and make bread appear out of nowhere and cure incurable diseases
- But Jesus kept trying to remind people that his leadership and his movement were not about giving everybody what they personally wanted.
- It was about becoming servants to God’s will
- He disappointed some people by saying things they didn’t want to hear
- They could not cling to wealth without consequences for their souls
- They could not expect to have power positions if they followed him
- And he never gave the religious leaders any incriminating sound bites they could arrest him for
- But then there was the encounter with Bartimaeus
- Outside the gates of Jericho, in the place where the unclean hung out and begged for food, Bartimaeus yelled out as loud as he could for help, because he believed Jesus could heal him
- The people did what they have always done with people like Bartimaeus: they tried to silence him.
- But Jesus interrupted his conversations and travel;
- He stopped and paid attention to Bartimaeus,
- What do YOU want? He asked
- And Bartimaeus threw off his cloak, threw open his heart and went for the Big Ask: I want to see again!
- Here, Jesus did directly respond to someone who wanted something for himself,
- and gave Bartimaeus a voice and agency in his own healing
- After this incident, Bartimaeus chose to follow Jesus on the road.
- Even though Jesus never invited him, but actually said “Go your way…”
- We don’t know if Jesus got anyone else’s vote in Jericho
- But he got Bartimaeus’s vote!
- We are in a season of discerning whether and who to follow as leaders
- On the national stage, we’re choosing who to vote for
- And here at Lyndale, the Search Team is about to begin searching for a new pastor;
- So now comes the challenge of choosing the right spiritual leader
- It’s easy for churches to get caught in the same trap we get into with elections
- We want a new pastor who will give us what WE want
- Maybe you want a pastor who will grow the church numerically
- So we can fill all the committee slots, or to help us pay our bills,
- Maybe you want an administrator who will help the church get organized
- Or you want to be more engaged with the immediate Whittier neighborhood
- Or someone who knows how to do fundraising, or design a website
- Maybe you want a pastor who will grow the church numerically
- You may not be voting for a presidential candidate who promises to “Make America Great Again”,
- but you may want a pastor who promises to “Make the Church Great Again” with the same kind of magical thinking!
- I would caution the Search Team and all of you here:
- sometimes people get on the Search team because they want to wield some power to get what they want;
- but that is not the way the process works.
- The UCC really encourages a communal, Spirit-led process!
- We want a new pastor who will give us what WE want
- The Search team is being charged to choose a reputable leader for the next chapter of Lyndale’s life
- You have spent the last 2 years identifying your church’s personality
- and the skill set and competencies you want in a new pastor,
- And yes, all that stuff in the profile is important!
- But this story in the lectionary about Jesus meeting Bartimaeus, reminded me that there is also a quality of personhood, especially for a spiritual leader, which you will need to discern, alongside everything else you’ve asked for in your profile
- What are the Christ-like qualities we long for in a pastor?
- Those qualities can inspire all the rest of you so that your overall ministry will embody those qualities as a group
- You have spent the last 2 years identifying your church’s personality
- Yes, you want someone who can “get the job done”; who is task oriented and has a limitless skill set
- But I encourage you to also pay attention to what a spiritual leader is made of as a person, in terms of Christ-like qualities that may or may not benefit you directly.
- Pay attention to the spiritual leadership of Jesus in this story
- He doesn’t see Bartimaeus as a “bundle of problems to solve”
- or a “bundle of opportunities” to make himself look good
- He shows himself as a leader who truly SEES and tries to understand Bartimaeus;
- Look for a spiritual leader who is interested in seeing and understanding you
- Seeing and understanding your neighborhood
- Seeing and understanding the people on the edge of your fellowship
- Including those “outside your gates” who have been silenced for one reason or another
- Seeing and understanding your neighborhood
- As for the call process, it requires grown-up Christian conduct of spiritual discernment and mutual trust
- Trusting the work already done by the Transition Team
- Trusting your own team members and building a bond with them
- trusting the Conference staff,
- And most of all, trusting God to help you find a spiritual leader who will inspire and encourage the next steps you need to make, some of which you don’t even know yet!
- In my work as an interim, I try to keep the faith that God truly has in mind a human being for you—not a bundle of skills and tools, not a perfect leader–but a human being molded by their life experience into a shape that fits and can be molded alongside your experience as a congregation, into a relationship that will help you keep moving in the direction God is calling you together.
- With that faith, I send you to your work Search team!
A Service of Gratitude and Blessing (Transition and Search come forward)
Leader: There are different gifts, but it is the same Spirit who gives them. Each one of us is given gifts by the Spirit to be used for the common good.
To the Transition Team: The members of the Transition team have brought gifts of listening, documenting what they heard, writing and editing, meeting and meeting and meeting, to produce a document that describes Lyndale UCC as it is now and as it hopes to be in the future.
To the Search Team: The Search Committee has waited patiently for its time to receive the baton from the Transition Team, and that time is now! This group has been charged with absorbing our profile’s contents and aspirations, and then discerning the best match with a pastoral candidate to bring to the congregation for a vote.
To both teams: Siblings in Christ, you have committed yourselves to significant leadership tasks on behalf of the entire congregation. In recognition of the importance of your work, we pause to express our gratitude and to remind ourselves that you do not undertake this task alone; you have been and will be guided by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, the prayerful support of the members of this church, and the assistance of the UCC through the Minnesota Conference.
To the Search Committee: And now, those who are serving on the Search Committee for Lyndale United Church of Christ, are asked to covenant to perform faithfully the vital task of searching for a new pastor.
Do you pledge, with God’s guidance, to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in all you do, say, and decide? WE DO.
Do you accept and honor the work and profile created by the Transition Team as a faithful reflection of Lyndale’s history, character and aspirations? WE DO.
Will you endeavor:
- to establish a harmonious working relationship within your committee?
- to maintain consistent attendance at our Search Committee meetings?
- to be open and patient listeners to each other?
- to maintain strict confidentiality in all you read, say, and hear—protecting both the privacy of each other and of potential candidates?
- to review all profiles with open minds and hearts, treating all candidates fairly and justly;
- to seek decisions not made by majority rule, but by the coming together of minds, hearts, and souls in a consensus that will build a firm foundation for the effective future mission and ministry of this church?
If so, say WE WILL
Leader: Will the congregation please rise in body or spirit to share your part of the covenant with the Search Team:
Leader: Will you, the members of Lyndale UCC, entrust the search for a new Pastor for Congregational Life to this body? Will you show patience and trust in their process, some of which will be confidential? Will you pray for them and encourage them as they engage their spiritual gifts and wisdom in the search process? WE WILL.
Laying on of hands: Search inside circle; Transition outside circle
Let’s say a prayer of gratitude to God for their gifts:
Thank you, Gracious and Holy Creator, for these your servants who have brought their wisdom and labors to Lyndale to further its mission. Bless them with the knowledge that they have served and will serve in the tasks entrusted to them to the best of their ability, and let them feel the smile of your approval and the warmth of our gratitude for their presence and power to do your will. Amen!
Recent Comments