Proper 17 - Belong

My theme for this Sunday is ‘Belonging’ - and looking at the liturgies for Baptism and Confirmation - and some of our Book of Order (or constitution) I want to talk about what it means to ‘Belong’ to a Methodist Church.

We might ask ourselves - ‘what’s the password?’ - where do I get my passport?

How do I know I ‘belong’.

Including & Excluding

Jesus faced this often in his ministry. Religious groups defined themselves by who belonged and who did not belong.

Mark 7:1–2 (NRSV)

1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.

You can imagine this scene quite easily. Two groups…

Jesus and his disciples - eating without following proper religious traditions.

The Pharisees looking on… judging. Becoming quite angry as we sometimes do around matters of religious observance.

And interrogating Jesus, I imagine a bit of a tone in their voice…

Mark 7:5 NRSV

5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

The Pharisees want to determine who belongs and who doesn’t.

They want to make that determination based on the observance of this or that ritual - but Jesus answers them with the words of Isaiah:

Mark 7:6–7 (NRSV)

6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

What determines belonging?

A pledge card?

A confirmation certificate?

A baptism certificate?

(This is Nelson Mandela’s ‘Pledge Card’ indicating that he was a ‘communicating’ member of the Methodist Church.)

In Methodist Churches up until the early 20th century you would not be admitted to communion without a ‘communion ticket’.

Unfortunately - these days the communion ‘ticket’ has come to be associated with having paid your dues.

That was not always the case. It was about Classes or Cell Groups having met with the minister.

To address a decline in the Methodist Church in 1820 - the British Methodist Church made what is called the Liverpool Resolution on Pastoral Work, in it (abridged in 1847 we read:)

Ministers, let us be careful each quarter to meet personally every Class, never sending the tickets to the Leader (1847, p. 550).

Admission to the communion table was strictly controlled and not for the sake of Exclusion - but rather for the sake of making sure that every member was properly accounted for.

The tasks of the minister in meeting every member of the church, by calling the classes together was…

…for a careful examination of the Members as to their Christian religion, experience and practice,

It is a pity that these days the ‘class ticket’ (where it is still used) is more about whether you have paid your dues than whether you are progressing faithfully along your spiritual journey.

Abuses of the ticket system - and verses like Luke 15:2 helped us to realise that maybe our walls around the meal of belonging were a little bit too high:

Luke 15:2 NRSV

2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus - eats with all the wrong people.

And the problem with a certificates - be it a marriage certificate, a class ticket, a communion certificate or a baptism certificate is what does it actually mean?

It means that you fulfilled certain requirements at a certain time - on a certain day - but it doesn’t accurately measure the heart.

Like Jesus said - in response to the critique of the Pharisees - quoting Isaiah:

Mark 7:7 NRSV

7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

We can become way too legalistic in our application of rules. And rules don’t measure the heart.

Belong

Belonging is not just a piece of paper.

Or as our Book of Order states:

3.1 …Membership is not conditional upon the profession of theological tenets, or dependent upon traditional authority or ecclesiastical ritual.

We don’t have to have the same theology. Even traditional authority or ecclesiastical ritual (baptism - or a letter from the pope saying so and so should be a member…) these things don’t make you a member.

3.1 …It is based upon a personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, brought about by the Spirit,

ranging from the earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul to its crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love’

Personal Experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, brought about by the Spirit.

From the earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul

Crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love’.

Personal Experience

Earliest Signs

Crowning Blessedness

Personal Experience of the Lord Jesus Christ

It is really hard to describe to someone what this means.

A personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ can mean so much to so many people.

For some - it is a huge deal - a moment of revelation and healing - a day they can mark in their calendar. A time a moment of transition.

For others - just a subtle nudge - something made sense, locked into place - and I knew I believed… I knew I knew Jesus.

And if I went around the congregation and asked you: “Have you had a personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Most of you would be able to tell me something. Ranging from major life altering moments - to the most subtle of ‘consolations’ - an inner sense of peace.

Many of us will probably doubt the experiences that we have had - was it me? Was it Jesus ? Was it my mind playing tricks on me?

The problem with Christianity is the people with the major experiences do all the talking… the people with the subtle experiences of God’s loving presence are left not sure if their’s measured up.

A personal experience is just that.

Personal.

Your personal experience.

Years after becoming a minister. Having been raised by a minister - having served as a missionary even - John Wesley recounts his personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ on 24 May 1738, he writes of going to hear someone read from Luther’s preface to the book of Romans:

24 While he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.

I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

The Journal of John Wesley (18th century)

A personal experience is personal. And it could be so very small - just a quiet nudge - > all the way to really huge - an overwhelming spiritual experience.

Personal Experience

Crowning Blessedness

So the ‘Earliest Signs’ of this ‘Personal Relationship’ we can understand easily enough - but the ‘Crowning Blessédness’ fits more under the heading: “Become.”

3.1 …from the earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul to its crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love’

In John Wesley’s pamphlet: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (slightly modernised by AI) he writes:

A Methodist is someone who deeply loves God - with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

God is their greatest joy and deepest desire. They constantly feel, 'There's nothing in heaven I want more than you, and nothing on earth I desire besides you.' God is everything to them.

This love makes them truly happy. They have a constant source of inner peace and joy, like a wellspring of life within them.

Their love for God is so complete that it drives out all fear. They experience a constant sense of joy. Their whole being cries out, 'Praise God, who has given me new life and a wonderful hope for the future - an eternal inheritance in heaven!'

This is the idea that Wesley has of perfect love. A relationship with Jesus that has reached its true maturity.

Belong - Sharing

But there is some small print…

After all that:

Personal Experience

Earliest Signs

Crowning Blessedness

Sharing

3.1 …and upon a sharing of such gifts of grace with others seeking or enjoying a similar experience.

You don’t just join the church to receive - you join to share - to give - to serve:

Romans 12:10 NRSV

10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.

Romans 12:13 NRSV

13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Sorry to be referring to our Book of Order so much today - but this is about belonging.

The key paragraph is 3.2:

3.2. All persons are welcomed into membership who sincerely desire to be saved from their sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and show the same in life and conduct, and who seek to have communion with Christ Himself and His people by taking up the duties and privileges of the Methodist Church.

Duties and Privileges

Belong

Pharisees point to external signs

Jesus points to the heart

Belonging:

Personal Experience

Earliest Signs to Perfect Love

Sharing / Duties & Privileges

Responsibilities

In our Confirmation Service we remind each other of our most simple responsibilities as church members:

Will you commit yourself to the Christian life of worship and service, and be open to the renewing power of God?

With God's help I will.

Will you seek the strength of God's Spirit as you accept the cost of following Jesus Christ in your daily life?

With God's help I will.

Will you witness, by word and deed, to the good news of God in Christ, and so bring glory to God?

With God's help I will.

At your confirmation you don’t have to say it - but next time there is a confirmation - or a baptism - we will all answer this question:

Will you so maintain the Church's life of worship and service that they may grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord?

With God's help we will.

Responsibilities

Worship & Service

Strength of God’s Spirit

Witness by Word and Deed

Maintain the Church’s Life

Believe | Belong | Become

Just now we will share communion together - and I will remind you that all are welcome at this table.

But remember - we don’t just come to this table to be fed. We come to the table to offer ourselves.

And as we offer ourselves - Christ gives of himself - to strengthen us for the ministry he has given us…

And Christ helps us on the journey of transformation towards what we ought to become:

A Methodist is someone who deeply loves God - with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

God is their greatest joy and deepest desire. They constantly feel, 'There's nothing in heaven I want more than you, and nothing on earth I desire besides you.' God is everything to them.

This love makes them truly happy. They have a constant source of inner peace and joy, like a wellspring of life within them.

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