Latest / HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN® / One More Step: One Table, One Body, One Christ

Transcript

One More Step: One Table, One Body, One Christ · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

0:05
Welcome to Have Faith, Let It Begin. This is Ariel Santana.
0:10
Can you believe I'm seven years old already? I'm old enough now to introduce my dad.
0:15
Ladies and gentlemen, your host, my dad, Angel Santana.
0:22
Two thousand came and the spark was lit. A testimony raw, it wouldn't quit.
0:27
His mother's voice, a guiding thread.
0:55
He walks the road. As I begin this morning, I'd like to start by saying what
1:00
I normally say when I'm up here.
1:02
Welcome to First Reformed Church, the church on the hill, the light on the hill.
1:09
For those of you that probably already haven't noticed, on my right,
1:13
your left, there will be stairs. You can go down. Second door on your left is the restrooms.
1:19
We welcome you home, as this is my home as well.
1:24
Join me this morning for a prayer of the Venetian.
1:27
Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, as we open your word,
1:32
widen our hearts and open our minds, help us not simply to hear familiar words,
1:39
but to listen for what you are saying to us today.
1:43
Through your Holy Spirit, help us understand your word.
1:48
Receive it with open hearts and allow it to shade the way we live.
1:53
Remind us that we are called to be your light in his world. And together,
1:59
we are the body of Christ.
2:01
May your word draw us closer to you, closer to one another, and closer to the
2:07
communities you have called us to love and serve.
2:11
And when you show us the way forward, give us the faith and courage to take just one more step.
2:20
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
2:23
So as I do on a Sunday, I explain to the congregation that I do a thing called a scripture over me.
2:31
Why? Because when I was younger, I would sit in the pews and I would say,
2:34
I don't know what you just said.
2:36
So I said, well, when I come up here as a student of Western Geological Seminary,
2:42
I said, I'm going to change things up a little bit. I'm going to describe what we're going to read.
2:47
So join me in what I call a scripture over me.
2:51
So before we hear today's Scripture readings, I want to just take a moment to
2:56
explain why I chose these two passages, because I believe they speak beautifully to one another.
3:03
See, our first reading will come from Matthew 5, verses 14-16.
3:10
Jesus is speaking during the Sermon on the Mount, and He tells His followers something remarkable.
3:16
You are the light of the world.
3:19
Jesus is reminding his disciples that faith isn't something meant to remain here.
3:27
Light has a perfect. It shines. It helps people seek.
3:32
And Jesus calls his followers to live in such a way that others can see something
3:38
of God's goodness through them and ultimately give glory to the Father in heaven.
3:44
And then the second is going to be from 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-14.
3:51
And I chose verse 27.
3:54
This time, Paul gives us the image of the body.
3:58
A body has many different parts. They don't look alike.
4:03
They don't all have the same purpose. They don't all have the same gifts.
4:08
Yet every part belongs to the same body.
4:11
And both held the church. Now, you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part.
4:19
And I believe these two passages belong together. Because Matthew reminds us
4:24
that we are all called to shine the light of Christ into the world.
4:31
And Corinthians reminds us that we never, we will never call to do that alone.
4:38
We have different gifts, different experiences, different ministers,
4:44
different congregations.
4:46
But we belong to one body and we serve one Christ.
4:51
So as we hear these scriptures today, I invite you to listen.
4:55
To listen with one question in your hearts, in all of our hearts.
4:59
If we are the light of the world, and together we are the body of Christ,
5:04
we might want to think of it this way.
5:08
What might God be calling us, each of us, to do with that today?
5:14
Perhaps the answer will begin with just one more step. Here's the words of the Lord.
5:23
In Matthew 5, verses 4 to 6, you are the light of the world.
5:28
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
5:32
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
5:35
Instead, they put it under its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
5:41
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your
5:46
good deeds, and glorify your Father in heaven." The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
5:52
1 Corinthians Just as a body, though one has many parts, but all its many parts
5:59
from one body, So it is with Christ.
6:03
For we are all baptized by one Spirit. So as to form one body,
6:09
whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free, and we were all given the one Spirit to drink it.
6:17
Even so, the body is not made up of one part of, but many.
6:21
Now we are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
6:26
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks.
6:29
So I call this one table, one body, one breast.
6:35
So grace and peace to all of you. For many of you, this may be the very first
6:38
time that we've had the opportunity to meet.
6:41
And probably the very first time that you've heard me preach.
6:45
So let me begin by saying it is truly an honor to stand up here in front of
6:48
all of you and share God's word.
6:51
I'm still a student at Western Theological Seminary.
6:55
I'm still learning. And I'm still growing into ministry that God is calling me forward and toward.
7:02
And standing before pastors and elders and leaders have faithfully served Christ,
7:09
for so many years, I certainly don't stand here pretending that I have all the answers.
7:15
Actually, the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn.
7:21
But I would like to share something that God has been placing in my heart. Right.
7:25
From where I stand, I have tremendous hope for the church.
7:29
As I continue preparing for ministry, I see people of different ages,
7:34
backgrounds, experiences, and stories, answers that God has called.
7:42
And every time I see that, I am reminded that God is not finished with this church.
7:47
God is still calling. God is still preparing.
7:51
God is still preaching people. And God is still building. his church.
7:56
I've also learned something personal. Ministry doesn't begin with someone or
8:01
somebody that hands me a degree.
8:04
Ministry has already happened.
8:07
Part of my ministry involves having my own podcast, social videos.
8:12
And through these spaces that I'm currently in, I encounter people that I might
8:18
never meet inside a sanctuary.
8:20
Some have not been in church for many years. Some don't know how to come back.
8:26
Some are young people asking questions. Some are simply curious about Jesus Christ.
8:33
And some want absolutely nothing to do with Christianity.
8:37
And I've had people that I've discovered that when they found out that I'm studying
8:41
ministry, they have immediately left. I thought I'd get a chance out of that.
8:48
I've had people challenge me. I've even had people tell me that Christ,
8:53
or the Christ that I believe in, doesn't exist.
8:56
And those encounters have made me ask myself, what is my responsibility in that moment?
9:03
It is to win an argument? No. Or is it to show them Christ?
9:09
Because Jesus tells us, you are the light of the world.
9:14
Not simply the light of the sanctuary, the light of the world.
9:19
And Jesus tells us to let that shine before others.
9:24
That means wherever God places us, there is an opportunity to reflect Christ.
9:30
Because sometimes the first sermon somebody hears isn't preached by the pulpit or from the pulpit.
9:37
Sometimes the first sermon that they encounter is the way that Christians treat them.
9:42
And this week, God showed me that.
9:45
He showed me that when I can look in the way that I never expect.
9:50
For those of you that are local or maybe are fond of social media,
9:54
you've heard of my nephew, Amari Santana.
9:57
For two days, he went miss.
10:00
This was in Florida. My family didn't know where he was. 17-year-old young man.
10:05
My sister was 100 miles away, 100 miles away from my family and myself,
10:10
facing something no parent should ever have to experience.
10:14
And there is something else. People showed up.
10:18
People who didn't know my sister, showed up. Churches, showed up.
10:24
Mother's groups, showed up. Members of the community, showed up.
10:31
Strangers showed up. More than 125 people came together for one simple reason.
10:38
Somebody needs help. They didn't begin to ask which church this family attended.
10:44
They didn't ask whether they knew them.
10:46
And they saw someone hurting. And they showed up.
10:51
And praise be to God, my nephew was found.
10:55
He is home. He is safe. And that experience reminded me of something I don't want to forget.
11:02
This is what can happen when people take a step toward one another.
11:06
And when I return to Scripture, I realize something. We've seen this before.
11:12
The Bible gives us a story after story after story of people taking faithful
11:17
steps toward God and toward one another.
11:20
Think about the friends who carried a paralyzed man to Jesus.
11:25
They arrived and they couldn't get through the crowd.
11:28
They could have. They could have said, well, we tried. But they didn't. They took another step.
11:37
They carried their friend onto the roof, opened it, and lowered him down to Jesus.
11:42
They helped carry someone who couldn't make that journey alone.
11:45
Think about the Good Samaritan.
11:48
Others saw the wounded man and passed by. But one person stopped.
11:53
One person moved closer. One person decided that another person's pain mattered
11:59
enough to interpret his joke.
12:03
He took another step. And look at Jesus himself.
12:07
Again and again, Jesus moved toward people. He sat at tables with people others avoided.
12:15
He sat at tables with people others wouldn't touch.
12:19
He listened to people others ignored. He welcomed people others had already judged.
12:26
He welcomed people others had already passed by and forgot about.
12:32
And then we see the early church praying together, worshiping together,
12:36
sharing together, and caring for those in need.
12:40
These stories aren't simply there so that we can remember what God's people
12:46
did thousands of years ago.
12:48
They remind us of what we can do today.
12:52
They bring us closer to the word. They bring us closer to Christ.
12:58
And when we live with Scripture reads and Scripture teaches us,
13:04
it can bring us closer to one another and closer to the communities that God
13:09
has entrusted to our care.
13:12
And then Paul gives us this beautiful picture. The Bible was many parts,
13:18
different gifts, different functions, but one Bible.
13:24
And that's important for me to remember.
13:28
Because those of us entering ministry need those who have walked this road before us.
13:34
We need your width. We need your experience. We need your stories.
13:40
We need to hear about the victories. And yes, we need to learn from the mistakes too.
13:47
And I believe something beautiful happens when different generations of churches listen to one another.
13:54
Because Paul doesn't describe a body where every part looks the same.
13:59
He describes many members, different gifts, different functions, but one body.
14:06
And that's what I see when I look around this room this morning.
14:10
Different congregations, different communions, different histories,
14:16
different generations, different gifts, different challenges.
14:20
Yes, but we all belong to the same Christ.
14:26
We need one another. And maybe this isn't about changing who we are.
14:31
Maybe it's about remembering who Scripture tells us we are. Because Scripture
14:36
continually brings us back.
14:38
Back to Christ. Back to God's Word. Back to loving God.
14:43
Back to loving our neighbors. Back to serving. Back to showing up.
14:49
Sometimes the most powerful ministry isn't completed, and it's not complicated.
14:54
Sometimes it's simply taking what we've already learned from God's Word and living it.
15:01
Our communities are filled with people looking for somewhere to belong.
15:06
Teenagers are trying to figure out who they are. Families are struggling.
15:11
People carry loneliness that nobody sees.
15:14
People who haven't walked through
15:16
a church door in 20 years people may wonder where they would even be.
15:24
At a place for them if they came back. And perhaps Scripture invites us all,
15:31
not just pastors, not just elders, not just seminaries, but all of us to ask, Lord,
15:38
what is the next faithful step you are asking we to take?
15:43
Not because everything we've done before was wrong, not because every congregation
15:47
needs something to become different, and certainly not because someone like me has all the answers.
15:54
But because none of us, myself included, none of us is finished growing closer to Christ.
16:02
So we return to Scripture. We listen again. We learn again. We pray.
16:09
And then we just take one more step.
16:14
Maybe it's one more step toward another congregation. One more step toward someone
16:19
who hasn't been in church in years.
16:21
One more step toward a young person asking difficult questions.
16:25
One more step towards someone who doesn't believe what we believe.
16:30
One more step toward a neighbor who simply needs someone to show up.
16:35
One more step for someone who's hurting.
16:39
One more step. When someone feels forgotten, just one more step.
16:47
When someone is searching for Christ but doesn't know where to begin, just one more step.
16:55
Not because Scripture needs to change, but because Scripture continues to change us.
17:03
And as God's word draws us closer to Christ, may it also draw us closer to one
17:08
another and closer to the communities that we have been called to love.
17:14
And that brings me back to the simple and very simple.
17:18
One team, there is will. One bar, there is will. We need another.
17:25
One Christ. The one who called us. The one who saved us.
17:30
The one who continues to save us. and the one who sends us.
17:34
I don't know what that church will look like that I'm looking at for when I'm done ministry school.
17:40
I don't know what that church is going to look like 10 years from now.
17:43
I can tell you I'm still learning and what my own ministry will look like,
17:48
I don't know yet, but I'm excited.
17:51
But I do know that one who has called us and many and maybe many of us who are
17:58
sitting here today don't need every answer right now.
18:01
Maybe we simply need enough to just understand our faith and enough faith to ask this question.
18:08
Lord, after hearing your word, what is my next faithful step?
18:13
And then have enough courage to take it.
18:17
So how do I quit cool? One congregation at a time. One community at a time.
18:23
One person at a time. Just one more step.
18:29
Because when the body of Christ takes the step together, our communities get
18:33
a glimpse of the one we follow.
18:36
One table, one body, one Christ. And together, we are the church.
18:45
So may we stay close to His word.
18:48
May we stay close to one another. May we stay close to the communities God has
18:52
trusted in us and wherever Christ is calling us next.
18:56
I encourage you to take just one more stout. Amen.
19:03
Our prayer for blessing on this word. Let us pray. Gracious God,
19:06
thank you for your word and for the reminder that we do not walk this journey alone.
19:12
You have called us to be your light and you have joined us together as the body of Christ.
19:16
May the word we have heard today take root in our hearts and bear fruit in the
19:20
way that we live, serve, welcome, and love.
19:24
When someone is hurting, help us to show up.
19:26
When someone feels forgotten, help us to see them.
19:29
When someone is searching, help us to welcome them. And when someone is questioning,
19:34
give us patience, grace, and love.
19:37
Continue to shape us through the scripture. Draw us closer to Christ,
19:41
closer to one another, and closer to the communities that you have called us to serve.
19:45
And when we ask, Lord, what is my next faithful step?
19:49
Give us that faith and the courage to do so, because we're going to take it.
19:53
In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
19:55
It's truly an honor to be here today and deliver this message with all of them.
19:59
Normally, when I leave the congregation, I leave you with these words.
20:04
Which means, may God bless you, spoken by my grandmothers who are in heaven watching down on me.
20:10
And I then would always tell the congregation, as my father would say,
20:13
let's eat. But you guys have a long day ahead of me.
20:16
So as we place this, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with us.
20:20
May his word continue to shape us May his light shine through us May we remember
20:25
that we are one body Serving one Christ And wherever God is calling us next
20:31
May he give us the faith and courage to take it,
20:34
Just one more step You're learning Learning things So am I May God be with you
20:40
May he share his light upon you,
20:42
Peace be with you God bless you Amen.