Sermon preached by Rev. Henley 24 June 2007
A long time ago, at an old Baptist church in a little country town, there was a man named James, but they called him Jimbo. Now Jimbo couldn’t do much, because he had had polio when he was a little boy, and one of his legs was partially paralyzed. And, oh, yes, he wasn’t very smart, because he was born at home and he needed oxygen when he was born, but there wasn’t any, of course, but he lived anyway, so he was just a “little different” than his brothers and sisters.
Jimbo, despite his challenges, and perhaps because of his challenges, was one of the most beloved people in his church. Everybody befriended him. He said that it was his job to make people laugh. He also said his favorite story in the Bible was about Jesus feeding the thousands. He said it was his favorite, because his favorite thing about church was the potluck suppers. And while Jesus had the biggest potluck ever, Jimbo didn’t know if it was the best, because Aunt Ethylene’s apple pie made their potluck suppers the best, and he didn’t think Jesus served Aunt Ethylene’s apple pie.
Whenever they needed volunteers to do things around the church there was Jimbo, right there in the middle of whatever was going on. Whenever anyone brought up any idea for service or serving others, the first voice you’d hear was Jimbo, and he’d say, “Count me in.”
A spring cleaning or hymn-singing, “Count me in.”
Collecting clothes for the needy or serving Thanksgiving to the down-and-out, “Count me in.”
Count me in.
But do you know what Jimbo did the best? He was a greeter and he passed out the Sunday bulletins to everyone who walked in the church. Newcomers would tell you, they came back the second time because the man at the door made the feel “truly welcomed.”
The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world… But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along … Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.
I know when we look around at our world, as well as around the world, we see so much work which needs to be done to make the world a better place. There are hungry people, homeless people, and marginalized people.
There are those who work for cash wages that are so far below minimum wage that it makes us sick to hear about it. And, what makes us even more disgusted is that there is someone paying them that little amount of money. That someone, may even be a neighbor, who lives well off the misery of those low wages.
We look at the southeast side of the District, and we see an entire community with sub-standard health care.
We look at South America and see the poverty there. We look at the Guinea, in fact, many countries in Africa, and we see the lack of human rights for whole countries of people. We see families in Asia existing on a cup of rice a day.
Quite frankly, I am overwhelmed with all that needs to be done to make the world a better place. I am sure that often, you too, become overwhelmed with thoughts of what could,
should,
needs to be done
to change what is
to what could be.
One of the benefits to being the minister is that I get to deliver the Sharing Our Plate checks. It’s really good that I get to do this, because I am so new to the District that I need to meet the people who run these agencies and network with them. I get to hear the stories of the work they are doing and the people they serve. What I’ve seen in the six plus months that we’ve been Sharing Our Plate is the heroic efforts of a few paid professionals and hundreds of volunteers who serve the needy in the District. Some of the non-profits we’ve helped feed thousands of hungry people each month. Others provide children and their families food, places to sleep, after-school care, and tutoring.
Quite frankly, it is hard to take in the enormous needs of people here in our nation’s capital and the good fight being waged to combat the systemic problems of social dis-ease.
One staff person told me that the average income of the families they serve—and they are all in the District—is around $17,000.
Seventeen thousand dollars in a geographic region where homes are more expensive than any other region in the country, including New York City—
Seventeen thousand dollars in the capital of one of the richest country in the world—
There is a great, great need here in this metropolitan area.
For the sake of emphasis, not repetition, I’ll say it again.
When we look around our world and we look around the world it can be overwhelming
when we see what could,
should,
needs to be done
to change what is
to what could be.
There are two thoughts I want us to take home with us today.
First, as a church we are doing a lot. Since I’ve been here I’ve seen us provide a lot of support for the hungry and the marginalized. We need to lift that up and affirm our efforts, because in the midst of being overwhelmed sometimes, we need to recognize what we do.
We could do more, yes, and you know we are going to do more. We don’t know what that “more” is right now. But, I’ll share a secret with you. On behalf of this congregation, I’ve asked God to give us a special calling. Yes, a very special calling.
And, that Call may be heard by someone else, not me, but one of you. Or, several of you may hear the call. We don’t know, yet, but we will.
God’s call will come and it will be strong and loud and we will know what God wants us to do. 1st Peter Chapter 5, [verse 10] tells us that our God of grace, who calls us to ministry in Jesus Christ, knows us and will make us strong, firm and steadfast. God will give us what we need to answer that call of service.
Second, what God wants us to do may be pretty simple. Paul wrote to the Romans and in chapter 1, that we can impart to each other spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts that make each other strong. He also writes we are “mutually encouraged” by each other’s faith.
Someone …will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.
Our call from God may be to provide a church where everyone can come and feel joyous about God’s unconditional love. God’s call may be for us to give encouragement and spiritual blessings to every person who walks through our front doors.
You know how I generally hug people I encounter if they allow me to hug them? Well, because I am the minister here, it is usually within appropriate boundaries for me to offer a hug, or ask for a hug, or for instance with the children to ask them if I may hug them. Most of the time, not always, but I am the initiating hugger.
Last Friday night, I went to a drumming circle in Silver Spring. Yes, I’ve been looking for one, and I finally found one—and its close enough to my home to walk there! Anyway, I was one of the new people. I did not know a soul. And it was not the kind of circle where you “get acquainted.” But, people did smile at me and a couple said they hoped I’d come back. And I do want to go back. But you know what happened as we were packing up our drums and leaving? The man who facilitated the circle, walked over to me and hugged me and said, we hope you liked our circle, won’t you come back.
Words cannot express how I felt. Surprised… welcomed… spiritually touched… moved… accepted… that was the first hug I had received from a stranger as an individual, a newcomer, a visitor since I’ve been in Washington.
There is someone here today who needs a hug, or a hand, or kind word.
There is someone here today who needs to be asked, NOT what do you do, but “How are you?”
There is someone here today who needs to know that they are welcome here—that here they will find unconditional love and acceptance.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around.
Jimbo did not have a lot to give. He didn’t have a lot of anything. Not a lot of money, not a lot of physical strength, not a lot of talent, but Jimbo could, and often did, “help out a little,” as he would say.
Everyone at the church would tell you, that Jimbo made the church and the people there better. And it wasn’t because he did so much it was because, simply, he was.
I want to be part of a church that makes us all better. I want to be part of a church that in our own, simple way, we make life better for others.
I want to say to you and I want you to say to each other, “Count me in.”
Do I hear the congregation saying “Count me in!”
“Yes!”
Count me in to sharing spiritual gifts and making each other strong,
Count me in to God’s blessings,
Count me in to turning a life around,
Count me in to God’s call to serve.
Count me in.
Amen and blessed be.
Posted by Sue Mosher at June 24, 2007 06:00 PM