Trinity Metropolitan Community Church of Gainesville (Trinity MCC)

Jesus Came...to Bring Salvation

Season of Lent, March 29, 2009

Rev. Vickie Miller

The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, "It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush bucket theater seats. It worked like a charm. The front of the church fills first.

The young priest nodded, and the old priest continued, "And you told me a little more 'beat' to the music would bring young people back to church, so I suppose that's why you brought in that rock 'n roll gospel choir. Now we are packed in the balcony."

"Thank you, Father," answered the young priest. "I am pleased that you are open to the new ideas of youth."
"Well," said the elderly priest, "I'm afraid you've gone to far with the drive-thru confessional."
"But, Father," protested the young priest, "my confessions have nearly doubled since I began that!"
"I know, son," replied the elderly priest, "but the flashing neon sign, 'Toot n' Tell or Go To Hell' is way too much for this church."

Our topic for today is Salvation. And, often our first thought regarding salvation is how do we get to heaven and avoid that “other place.” Confessing our sins? Changing our ways? Accepting Jesus?

My experience with MCC seems to be that we don’t talk much about salvation – at least not like some other denominations, mostly because I think the church at-large has stolen the term, and salvation has turned into a limited definition of how one obtains an after-life, how one gets to heaven then that further includes of list of what one must do or say or experience in order to obtain this salvation. It’s almost like the word “salvation” has become a bad word for many of us because it is loaded with all kinds memories about people telling us that we are sinners not worthy of salvation.

However, as an eclectic group of Christians in MCC we’ve done all of the things that our previous churches have told us to do to get saved. We’ve been dedicated as babies, fulfilled our first communions, we’ve walked the aisles – sometimes numerous times, we’ve been baptized by water, baptized in the Holy Spirit, delivered and redeemed.

Personally, I have experienced salvation in many of those ways, times when I made a memorable commitment to Jesus Christ. I clearly remember when I walked the aisle at the age of 12 in our Church of Christ church and was baptized the following week because that’s what my denomination taught about obtaining salvation. That and experiences like them are very dear and meaningful to me still today.   And, I do believe it is important that we make a personal decision of faith some time in our lives.

However, I have learned that salvation is also so much more than just a specific point of time or experience in my life or simply getting to heaven.

In the Bible, the theme of salvation runs from beginning to end, and the topic is quite broad.   In the Book of Genesis when God seeks out humans who are hiding in the garden and asks, “Where are you?” - we see salvation. In the last book of the Bible, in Revelations we read the closing words of Jesus, “Let everyone who hears, “Come,” and let everyone who is thirsty come.” In those words we see salvation. The salvation of God is found in every single book of the Bible so it’s no wonder that we as Christians put so much emphasis on it. The only problem is that present-day Christians have often had a limited view of salvation.

Joel Green, in his book Salvation says that salvation is a “way”, it is a journey, it is a life-path that we are on, not only during the Lenten season, but every day of the year. The word salvation comes from a Latin word that means “wholeness” or “healing”. It’s the same root from which we get our word “salve.”   So in a broad sense, salvation is the human cry for healing what is wounded.

That is salvation, us being wounded and God, seeking us out to make us whole.

In Biblical terms, salvation is described in a variety of ways. Salvation is:

Light in our darkness

Sight to the blind

Enlightenment

Liberation for captives

Return from exile

The healing of our infirmities

Food and drink

Resurrection from the land of the dead

Being born again

Knowing God

Becoming “in Christ”

Being made right with God

III. And so the good news is that we get to encounter God’s salvation over and over and over again in our lives. God is always seeking us out to save us – not just to save our souls, but to save us from our woundedness. This is the order of salvation: God initiates, people hear the message of salvation, people respond, and then conversion occurs.

The fortunate thing for us is that, living in this age, we have the life of Jesus to teach us about and to bring us salvation. If there was ever any doubt that God wants to bring salvation to all people, all we have to do is look at Jesus.

Philip Yancey, in his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, says that Jesus is the ultimate sign that reveals a God who comes in search of us, a God who makes room for our freedom even when it costs the Son’s life. God has become vulnerable for us in Jesus, and above all, Jesus reveals a God who is love.

III. When we look closely at Jesus’ life, Jesus has so much to teach us about salvation. For example, his message of repentance calls on those who are secure to care for the poor, the lame, and the blind.   Jesus’ miracles not only physically heal men and women – they are meant to bring salvation to their whole selves, as Jesus says, “Your faith has made you whole.” Jesus encourages those who have experienced salvation to attend to the needs of the hungry, strangers, the sick and the prisoners. Likewise, salvation for Jesus was also reflected in his frequent teachings about the coming of the dominion, when all would be one in God. In these teachings, we see Jesus carrying forward Israel’s hope for communal salvation.

Marcus Borg says that, “Salvation is never only an individual affair in the Hebrew Bible. Salvation is about peace and justice within community and beyond community. It is about shalom, a word connoting not simply peace as the absence of war, but peace as the wholeness of a community living together in peace and justice.”

Jesus lived and died for that kind of communal salvation.

I guess sometime in our life, we do come to realize that, “It’s not all about me.” Even salvation is not all about just me and my soul. Once we have accepted for ourselves this personal wholeness that Jesus brings to us, then we can never be the same again. And once we are never the same again, then we become partners with God in bringing salvation to others.

Our world is so in need of this complete salvation that the Bible and Jesus talk about. The world is in need of a salvation that brings wholeness to the entire being. We have much work to do because our call to salvation requires a response and our participation

Our own church, our own denomination, must be about the business of salvation. I am proud that I have seen so many examples of that. Our MCC denomination’s work in Romania has helped to bring salvation to many.

After the first ever pride march in Romania, Ana-Marie, testified to the salvation she received that day: For the first time in my life I could see many people like me in the same time, in the same place. For the first time in my life I saw a lesbian priest. And a lot of supporters. Instantly I didn’t hate my country which hated and imprisoned us for so many years. My country wasn’t changed, but I was a different person. I didn’t care anymore that we were hit with beautiful icons. I didn’t care anymore that we were welcomed with stones and smoking bombs. Isn’t this a miracle? WE did it. That is Ana receiving liberation for captives – salvation!

Last year MCC raised money for one of our pastors from Africa, Rev. Nokuthula, whom we met at our last general conference. After the conference she became crippled because of a back tumor and as a denomination, we raised over $20,000 for her surgery. In doing so, we helped to heal her infirmities and we brought to Nokthula God’s salvation!

When the family of a gay veteran has no place of welcome for their son’s funeral and MCC steps forward to offer a safe place, we have offered them light in the darkness – God’s salvation!

When members of Trinity MCC provide food dishes for GAAP – we have offered them food and drink, God’s salvation!

Yet, there is still more work to be done. Our own country and so many of its members are in need of salvation. When our sick cannot get the needed medications, we must be about the business of Jesus’ salvation.

When U.S. Child Labor laws do not apply to agriculture and over a quarter of the food we eat is picked by children in dangerous, pesticide-filled fields, then we must be about the business of salvation.

When a group of unenlightened people in the City of Gainesville spread lies and fear about GLBT people and try to strip equal housing and employment rights, then Trinity MCC, it means that we as partners with God must continue to work to bring enlightenment, to preach salvation. Thank God that the voters upheld the nondiscrimination clause!

These are examples of the type of salvation that Jesus preached about, that he prayed for, that Jesus died for. Salvation that is not only personal but is communal, bringing hope and deliverance to all.

IV. Trinity MCC, may we always be on this mission of salvation. Let’s embrace this new life found in Jesus and, yes, accept the personal salvation that is offered to each of us. Yet let us also realize that as partners with God, we are to help to extend this salvation to others.   May we take this Lenten message of good news and share it with the world. Amen.

Contact: gmail.com@trinitymcc
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