There was a horrible day that I used to dread. Perhaps you might think of the days you held a disdain for as well. Not the day when liver and onions were for dinner or when the ski hill closed for the season. It was a day that was much, much worse. The day I'm referring to is 'Report card day' Do you remember that day? Long before the days of email, students would be given their report card for the term in a sealed envelope. And we were tasked with the job of carrying our grades home for our parents to look over and discuss with us. It was a loooong walk home! Do you remember those days? Those with smiles are likely the "A students"; those slumping in their chairs might have had a rougher time in school like me. As we get older and established, perhaps even retired, we might say 'thank goodness those days are over!' No more report cards; no more analysis of my performance. Ah... the benefits of adulthood. Aren't they wonderful!
However, if we have been listening to this gospel morning's text this morning, part of the spiritual life is being accountable for our actions. Matthew records Jesus' final words to his disciples as this "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Lest we think that the days of report cards end after we hold our diploma or toss our graduation cap. They continue. It seems that life, in the spiritual sense, is lived with an ongoing accountability to our faith. An important note, I think, is to be clear on the source of judgement.
Judgement over others, of course, is not pronounced by us. Jesus is very clear on this in the gospels. Judgement is given by God. So, as we come to this final Sunday together, it seems that we continue in life with God giving us 'report cards' on the living of our faith. So, as I prepare to pass the leadership back to you for your continuing ministry in Northwood, I thought I might reflect a little on God's report card for me as you ponder your report card for the journey of faithful living.
For our purposes this morning, I decided to follow Matthew's formula and break the analysis up into a few sections: One: Go and make disciples. Baptizing and Teaching. And, secondly: Remember, Christ is with us.
Go, and make disciples. Baptizing and teaching. Discipleship is the foundational component of our faith. We look back at the twelve apostles and are reminded (and take comfort) in their humanity. They did a lot correctly; however, they were NOT perfect. They were, as the saying goes, perfectly flawed and gifted in their humanity. Through our faith lineage, we (ALL of us) are spiritually connected to them. We are all disciples of Christ. We do not need to be perfect; but we DO need to be human in our discipleship. The Greek word for disciple is mathetes which translates as "to learn." So, a disciple is a learner, an apprentice, a follower, one who shapes their life according to Christ. While we have celebrated the reception of new church members into the community of Northwood this morning, Jesus does not say our focus is to "Go therefore and make church members." In the text, Jesus is saying: "Go and make 9elievers." I have been blessed over the past several months to have farewell conversations with Northwood folks and what I cherished the most were the conversations about how their faith had grown over the past decade. Perhaps I should care more about numbers and membership; however, what I care MOST about are the ways people grow in faith, feel community and live out their faith. Poet Maya Angelou wisely wrote: 'People will forget what you said, what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' If that is true, then my deepest hope is not that you'll remember every sermon or every meeting, or every study group, or every gathering, or every moment we served food to those in need.
My hope is that you'll remember how the love of Christ touched us. How the love of Christ welcomed us, encouraged us to grow, and that together how we made Christ's love tangible. How we made Northwood a community where as our mission states: we 'embraced all of creation with the love of Christ. That might (and usually does) result in people wanting to become involved; be members ... but the MOST important part is the feeling of Christ's love that has been present. I hope and I pray that we have fostered and nurtured that love in a way that honours the giver of New Life. I hope our time has further shaped this place into a home where discipleship has grown and love has been further nurtured.
The minister is, of course, NOT the only disciple in the church. You also are blessed, and tasked, to be a disciple of Christ with a ministry that is your own. Paul taught this in his letters how we are all members of the one body of Christ. We are hands, feet, eyes, ears, and the list goes on! We are all essential; no one is superior; all needed for Christ's body to function and thrive. You might ponder how you have expressed this ministry; how you are expressing this ministry; how you will express this ministry of discipleship.
There is a growing sentiment in our churches today. I hear it in others·; I hear it in Northwood. The sentiment is 'I've done it all before; I'm too old; I'm not capable like I once was'. I would like to challenge those sentiments and remind us that we are all blessed and tasked with the call to discipleship. Certainly, your discipleship looks different as we get older and as our abilities change. However, if we are to continue to be disciples, we all must continue to step up and serve c;1s we are called and enabled. The body of Christ needs your discipleship as much today as it did yesterday! Imagine if we had a nametag that named, not just our Christian name, but also our discipleship ministry. What would yours say? What will it say in the chapter ahead? This IS a very important consideration today! How you will live out your ministry now and into the future. Because the church needs you so much. You may not be up for cutting the grass or fixing the plumbing like you did years ago; however, Christ's church needs doers who get involved as they are called and enabled in each age and stage of their life. So, given your age and stage of life, what will your ministry be?
The second half of the text is a wonderful reminder for the challenging road of discipleship ahead. Jesus says "Remember, I am with you to the end of the age". If ever we needed a reminder or encouragement that we don't do this alone... that is it! In fact, we CAN'T do this alone if we tried. Any church that is run by one person WILL fail. Any group who try to run things without Christ WILL fail. But, when we remember that we don't do this alone, we will have bread for the journey! We will know that we don't do this alone. It is that wonderful Advent carol that we forget about through the rest of the year: "O Come, 0 Come... Emmanuel". Emmanuel= God with us. How easy it is to look at the task of discipleship and say 'I've done this before... I can't do it anymore'. How easy it is to look at the struggles of discipleship and say 'how will we ever accomplish this given the few who are involved' Yet, when we are reminded that we DON'T do this alone, everything shifts. Emmanuel is with us. Christ is with us till the end of the age.
I want to thank you, Northwood for a blessed decade of ministry. A decade when disciples were formed; when Christ's love was felt and shared; a time that continues in the chapter of life ahead. Northwood may you continue to 'go and make disciples baptizing and teaching. And may you always remember that you DO NOT do this alone... Christ is with you always.
Amen.