Trinity Metropolitan Community Church of Gainesville (Trinity MCC) - Sisters and Brothers on the Journey Together

Sisters and Brothers on the Journey Together

OR
I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ for my Journey Now

Rev. Jim Merritt

Trinity MCC

September 27, 2009

Introduction:

            Sisters and brothers, we are on a journey together; a spiritual journey. And I have to tell you, “I wouldn’t take NOTHIN’ for my journey now.” Let’s think about today’s reading together.

Adonai

            Let me unpack for us this name “Adonai,” which you heard in Psalm 124. “If Adonai had not been with us; if Adonai had not been for us; Blessed be Adonai; Our help is Adonai. “Adonai” is a Hebrew name with several meanings. It can be used to refer to plural Gods, the belief which was common during the time that today’s Psalm was written. It can also mean simply, “God.” Many times it is translated “Lord” and I am always challenged by that because that translation bows again to the practice of patriarchy with a slant toward masculine connotations. The definition I like most is closer to “Lord of Lords,” although I might say, “God of Gods.” Remember the song, “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby,” well this God is the real thing, the God above all others (if you believe in others) our God, omni-resourceful God, THE Omni- God. THE God. This is the God of Israel, this is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Ruth and Naomi. This is the God of Troy, and Nancy and Paul and Kathy and Rick and so many others who share our faith. And most important for us, this God is our God forever and ever – AMEN! Adonai, God of Gods; OUR God. Isn’t that just awesome? THE God of all creation is our God. Now that’s something to get happy about. Well, let me move forward.

Building the Spiritual Community

            So with the help of Adonai we are called to build a spiritual community in this place, and our New Testament reading from the book of James shows us four steps in that journey. Let’s look at them.

1.                  An effective spiritual community supports its members in difficult times.

This is a trait of an effective spiritual community that this church does very well. I’ve seen it in just the short time I’ve been here. You visit each other at home. You visit each other in the hospitals. You pray for each other. You drive each other to appointments. You sit with each other while loved ones have surgery. You feed each other when finances are lean and people struggle. I have to tell you one of the moments of greatest blessing to me was when one of our board members wrote to me in the midst of just a flood of our people in the hospitals.   And at a time when I really needed it I got an email that said sometime like, let’s have a prayer meeting. And we did not have time to advertize, we put the word out as best we could and a few of us came here in a circle and spent about an hour intentionally praying for our sick friends and family and for those who were taking care of them. And when someone in that circle prayed something like, “And God give Rev. Jim strength as he tries to take care of all of us,” I felt a touch from Adonai. I heard in my spirit that we would make it, that our people would get better and I knew that Adonai was on our side and this church was too. Now I don’t get that personal too often, and today I want you to know that “the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” The support of friends and family during difficult times is life-giving and sustaining. And I want to challenge us to continue growing into that characteristic of an effective Spiritual community that supports each other during difficult times.

2.                  An Effective Spiritual Community Celebrates with it’s members during joyful times.

I’ve seen us celebrate, too. Did we have a time here during our Homecoming/Installation weekend or what? We had amazing food, we have amazingly talented members entertain us, we had that wonderful concert with Justin Ryan and then we had 106 people pack this place out in worship on Sunday. Sisters and brothers we know how to celebrate! And I hope we can learn to celebrate the big and the small joys in our lives. Let’s celebrate birthdays. Let’s celebrate anniversaries. Let’s celebrate graduations. Let’s celebrate love. Let’s celebrate participation. Let’s celebrate financial responsibility according to spiritual terms. Let’s celebrate a growing membership. Let’s celebrate a growing choir. Let’s celebrate active community presence. Let’s celebrate with Pride. Let’s celebrate because Adonai is on our side. Let’s celebrate individuals, families, let’s celebrate with our allies in other minority communities. Let’s join with them in their celebrations and let’s make sure they are here to celebrate with us during ours. I’m getting to know them and the good news is they want to be here. Let’s develop our allies so we can succeed together and so we can celebrate together. And let’s celebrate Trinity. This is a work that God is doing and we are called to celebrate it. We serve and awesome God who has called us to a purpose and we celebrate a God who has only just begun the good work that has started in us. Let’ celebrate a vision, let’s celebrate ministry, let’s celebrate with Joy together. Effective spiritual communities know how to celebrate.

3.                  An Effective Spiritual Community Calls itself back into Order when necessary.

This part is both hard work and absolutely necessary.          Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson reminds us not to listen too much to old tapes. Most of us have them. Mine are the Baptist tapes that tell me I can’t, I’m not worthy and all kinds of other lies. These are the tapes that, if I let them play too long can really impact my daily practice of faith and spirituality. And sometimes it is so easy for us to fall back into old patterns of bickering and backbiting and burning up the phone lines spreading negativity. Rev. Wendy Foxworth says, “Sometimes we have to say ‘OOPSIE,” and ask for a do-over. That’s what it means to call ourselves back into order. We have to remember intent as well as impact when we speak. We have to refrain from blaming or shaming. We have to take responsibility for getting for ourselves what ever information we need. We have to speak for ourselves only, knowing that we really cannot speak for others. We have to handle our disagreements gently, lovingly, kindly, in person and in time. We all know what happens when we let wounds fester; they rot. And when we let our hurts and angers fester for long, they rot, too. They can rot our souls. They can consume our spiritual houses both individually and as a community. Effective spiritual communities call themselves back into order when necessary. My friends, let us always be calling ourselves back into the order of loving kindness and effective Godly relationship with one another. That really is the Jesus way.

4.                  An Effective Spiritual Community leads others to follow God’s ways.

Most of us have been exposed to a lot of church-building schemes. Many books have been written about ways to do it, programs to put on, I remember phrases like, “win the lost at any cost,” “I found it and you can find it too,” “I’m so glad I’m born again.” I’ve been through 3 seminary programs and I read all the time. And after all of that here is the best way I know to lead others to follow God’s ways. LOVE THEM. We’ve all been beat over the head with the bible long enough. We’ve all been through enough programs. We’ve tried enough schemes and so I very simply call on us to love people. All people. I’ve been blessed to share friendship with Nadine Smith, the founder and Executive Director of Equality Florida for about 25 years. One day I marveled at the way she effectively embraced and worked with just about anybody that walked through the door and I said to her, “Nadine, how DO you do it?” She looked at me and said, “Rev. you just have to love every body.” 25 years ago I had no idea how that statement would impact my life and my ministry and here I stand with you in another century still remembering that phrase. Sisters and brothers we have to love everybody. Everybody. No exceptions. That is the final and perhaps the most important characteristic of an effective spiritual community. Love everybody the way Jesus loves us.

Conclusion

1.                  Effective Spiritual Communities Support their members during difficult times.

2.                  Effective Spiritual Communities celebrate with their members during joyful times.

3.                  Effective Spiritual Communities call themselves back into order when necessary. And,

4.                  Effective Spiritual Communities lead others to follow God’s ways.

Our journey has been, is and will be blessed. I have to honestly say, in the words of Vestal Goodman, “I wouldn’t take nothin’ for my journey now.” The journey of the past, the journey of the present, and the journey to which we have been called together out into the future.

Adonai, make us an effective Spiritual community based on these principles and most of all based on your love. In your many names we pray. Amen.”



Introduction: Old Testament Reading

            Psalm 124

Say it, Israel! If the Adonai had not been with us, if Adonai had not been for us when enemies rose against us, they would have swallowed us in their blazing anger, and the raging waters would have swept us away – rushing, surging water, thundering over us.

Blessed be Adonai for saving our flesh from their teeth, for tearing the trapper’s net, so we could flutter away like birds. Our help is Adonai, creator of the eath and sky.

“Adonai” is a Hebrew name with several meanings. It can be used to refer to plural Gods, the belief in which was common during the time that today’s Psalm was written. It can also mean simply, “God.” Many times it is translated “Lord” and I am always challenged by that because that translation bows again to the practice of patriarchy with a slant toward masculine connotations. The definition I like most is closer to “Lord or Lords,” although I might say, “God of Gods.” Remember the song, “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby,” well this God is the real thing, the God above all others (if you believe in others) our God, omni-resourceful God, THE God.

New Testament Reading

            James 5: 13 – 20

¹³Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ¹⁷Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. ¹⁹My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, ²⁰you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins

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