Sunday, August 12, 2007
Luke 9:10-17
Reverend Susan
Southall
Minister of Discipleship
Perhaps you have noticed how often food or eating together are found as themes in the Bible. Just to name a few… Abraham and Sarah provide a meal for the three strangers who come to give them news about a son. One of Moses’ biggest challenges all those years in the wilderness was dealing with people’s fear of lack of food and water. The 23rd Psalm reminds us that God prepares a table for us even in the midst of difficulties. And, Jesus got in a lot of trouble with the religious leaders of his day for “eating and drinking with sinners.” Coming together around tables and eating seem to be an important part of religious life.
It must be true; There is even a chapter in The Unofficial United Methodist Handbook entitled “What to Bring to a Church Potluck.” This helpful chapter gives the basic recipe for a potluck casserole based on where you live across the US. Here is what it has to say,
“The casserole is a three-layered dish, typically. In order to make each casserole as culturally relevant as possible, use the following guidelines: STARCH – East Coast: pasta or rice pilaf, Midwest: rice, potatoes, noodles, or more rice, South: grits, Southwest: black, red, or pinto beans, West Coast: tofu; MEAT – East Coast: sausage or pheasant, Midwest: ground beef—in a pinch, SPAM luncheon meat, South: crawdad or marlin, Southwest: pulled pork, West Coast: tofu; CEREAL – East Coast: corn flakes, Midwest: corn flakes, South: corn flakes, Southwest: corn flakes, West Coast: tofu” [The Unofficial United Methodist Handbook, pg 51-52]
All kidding aside, there really is an important lesson to learn from coming together “at the table.” I like to call it the Theology of the Potluck. The theology of the Potluck says that when people come together and each one shares their talent and brings what they have, two things happen: 1) God is at work in the midst of the fellowship and 2) People are blessed. Sometimes people worry about whether they have any talent to share. One thing you can learn from a potluck is that talents come in forms. It might mean that you have learned how to make the best fried chicken from your grandmother’s recipe or it may mean you have the talent of knowing who sells the best fried chicken in town. All the talents at a potluck aren’t related directly to the food preparation… It might be the talent of great joy as is often seen by young children at a potluck or it might be sitting and visiting with someone. Or, one of my personal favorite talents—helping clean up after the potluck is over!! What is important is that you are willing to participate and bring what you have to add to the whole.
There must be something to this Theology of the Potluck because the miracle story we read this morning is the only miracle story found in all four of the gospels. What is it the gospel writers want us to see in this story? Luke has his own particular slant on the story. If we back up to the beginning of chapter 9, we see that Luke links this miracle with an understanding of coming together to go about God’s work. Notice in verse 1 & 2 that when the disciples come together Jesus gives them “power” to accomplish two things: “to proclaim the kingdom of God” AND “to heal.” When people of God are willing to come together and share what they have – God is proclaimed AND people are healed/blessed.
Notice that next Luke narrates that Herod is so perplexed by what happens when this group of disciples go out and work together that he wants to know more about this leader with whom they are connected. The very next thing that happens is that they are back with Jesus and there is a large crowd to feed. As is often typical of the disciples in the gospel narratives, they almost miss the point! Their first response is to let the people help themselves – to break up the connection that has formed. But, Jesus sees things another way. Jesus asks them to take inventory of what they have available to them. Then he uses what they have to feed over 5,000 people. It would appear that when people of God are gathered together with God in their midst, miracles will happen with whatever they have available!
Wesley, a great Bible scholar, must have recognized the power in this story. He recognized what could happen when people would come together, or to put it in more Wesleyan terms, when people are connected. The Miracle of Abundance as seen in the gospel accounts was seen time and time again by Wesley as he helped people of God “connect” together, each bringing what they had to the Methodist societies and bands. In his book, Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit, Lovett Weems spends an entire chapter on this principle. He states, “No particular expression of Christ’s ministry can do everything needed for faithful mission. Likewise, no part of Christ’s church is sufficient to do all that it can do without the mutual support, encouragement, and wisdom of other parts of the church. Leaders in the Wesleyan spirit have referred to this as “the connectional principle… The Wesleyan connectional principle brings together self, faith community, and society in a marvelous synergistic and redeeming way.” [Leadership In The Wesleyan Spirit, Lovett Weems, pg 103, 107] This principle of helping people “connect” brought the word of God and healing to the England of Wesley’s day and can still bring God to the people of our day.
Unfortunately, sometimes the idea of Connectionalism gets reduced to the idea of “paying our apportionments” by the end of the year. Apportionments are definitely an important way that Methodists throughout the world can work together. It gives those of us in the USA an opportunity to be “connected” to the work in places like Africa University halfway around the world. And, it gives folks in other parts of the world a chance to “connect” with us here in Oklahoma through the Cookson Hills mission or even the Holsinger Home right here in Enid. But, our heritage of Connectionalism means so much more. It is such an important part of who we are as United Methodists – it means we take seriously the principle of being connected with others as each one of us brings who we are and what we have to share to the work of God’s kingdom.
Let me give you just one example of what the connectional principle looks like. As you will recall early in July all the horrible rainstorms we had been having reached a climax and caused severe flooding in the Northeastern part of Oklahoma. On July 7 the city of Miami, OK saw flooding like they had never seen before – even in the flood of ’51 (which had been the worst in recent memory). Even as the flood waters were rising, the UM “connection” was at work in Miami as members of the FUMC Miami were helping over 30 families (including the pastor) get things moved before the flood waters reached their peak. It took about a day and a half for the water to recede from the flooded areas so rescue work could begin. But, the “connection” was already in action – the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) was already preparing their shipment of flood buckets which would arrive as soon as the water went down. These buckets had been prepared and shipped to the Sanger Brown facility in Louisiana by United Methodists from all over the country just to be used in an emergency like this. Within a week and a half of the flood specially trained United Methodists from disaster early response teams in Tulsa and Northwest Oklahoma had come together, made preparations, and arrived to help families gut-out their moldy houses and sanitize them before they could be prepped for rebuilding. Some of the supplies for the Northwest OK team came from another UM church right here in the city which had just completed Vacation Bible School where their children, youth, and adults had prepared cleaning supplies and flood buckets for us to take. The Northwest OK team consisted of people from 6 different cities in the Northwest OK area including 3 people from right here at First Church. But we didn’t work alone; when we arrived in Miami, the people of FUMC Miami had already arranged homes for us to stay in and one of the women from their church even made homemade cookies which she brought to the worksite for snacks.
That is just one small example of what Wesleyan Connectionalism can do! We may not have experienced a miracle with over 5,000 people like on that hillside in Galilee, but we did experience the miracle of God’s kingdom entering into the home of two families in Miami, OK. We sat with them and prayed with them and worked side by side in the dirt and mold and flying insulation just so they would know that God cares about them and their plight. People’s lives have begun the process of healing because Methodists in Oklahoma and all across the country were willing to “bring to the table” what they had to offer.
Lovett Weems ends his chapter on connectionalism with these words, “A Wesleyan connection holds together around a commitment to do what God has called the church to do. The connection gains energy by knowing that together we are engaged in the vision God has for the church in the world today.” It is wonderful to see the Connection at work after a disaster like Miami, OK, but the real question is whether we can be in Connection every day – here in Enid, across Oklahoma, throughout God’s world. We have a United Methodist church right here in Enid located in one of the more challenging parts of our city -- How can we be in connection with them? We have people in this church who sit on almost every board of every non-profit organization working in NW Oklahoma – How can we “connect” with them? It is no coincidence that we have a place right here in our Great Hall called the “Connection Corner” – a place where you can come to learn about being in mission by connecting with others in our church, around our city, and throughout the UM Connection.
It must have been a great challenge to those first disciples to look out at over 5,000 hungry people and wonder what to do. It is a challenge for us today to look out on a hurting world and wonder what we can do. But the answer is still right in front of us. The Risen Christ says to us what he said to them 2,000 years ago, “You give them something…” [Luke 9:13] No one individual can respond to that calling. But what would happen if we all “connected” together?
As we come to the table of Holy Communion this morning, I would ask you to be in prayer for this Wesleyan Connection. I would ask you to pray two questions this morning and then take your sermon outline home and continue to pray these two questions throughout the week ahead:
What is God calling First Church to do?
What can I “bring to the table” so this can happen?