Coming Into The Presence of Christ

I was certainly feeling like the “clay jar” that Paul describes. Certainly not like a shiny gold or silver vessel - all polished and as my grandmother used to say, “good for company”!

Nope - it was obvious that I was nothing “special” last Sunday.

And yet...

To be here. To worship. To be with Carlos, Diane, Kathleen - I found grace upon grace and truly felt the Holy Spirit moving in this place! Otherwise, I think I would have just melted into the fetal position and called the whole thing off!

A Rabbinic tradition states:

“Just as wine cannot keep well in silver or gold vessels, but only in the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones—so words of Torah do not keep well in one who considers himself to be the same as silver or gold vessels, but only in one who considers himself the same as the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones.”

Good thing - because any ego or thought that I possessed some super skill-set was certainly brought low that day!

So what does it mean, in light of all of this failure and mistakes - to be in the Presence of Christ? Is that even possible amidst our human frailty?

I believe it requires US to ...

Being Fully Present

The New Revised Standard Version (Treasure in Clay Jars)

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Everyone gets discouraged in ministry from time to time. Even Paul. You see - the “we and I”s in the passage are Paul referring to himself and perhaps other Christian leaders. The “you” is The Church in Corinth. Paul was being persecuted from without - by the Romans and the Sanhedrin, and now from “within” from the church in Corinth, questioning his leadership, even his “skill set”. He knew his body was weakening. Even Paul was beginning to question his own ability to minister, just as the people were. Then Paul gives us this beautiful passage that reminds us - IT IS NOT ABOUT US ANYWAY!. AND - it is certainly NOT about our own abilities, but the Power of God working through these fragile and rather ordinary vessels to bring about the Kin-dom on earth!

We WILL fail.

But God never fails us!

We will fail. We will get discouraged. We will experience pain and disappointment. We WILL fail. But God NEVER fails us!

But are WE fully present to this Grace, this Holiness, this Mystery of a never failing God?

Are we

Being fully present in mind.

Are we fully present to the Power of God in our lives? What does it take to be fully present? Do we let the things of this world drive us to distraction? If so, then it might just be that lack of presence that discourages and disquiets our souls. When we read our Bibles, are we also glancing at our Social Media? When we pray, are we also recounting our shopping list? When we come into this place of worship - to worship - are we also checking our phones, texting, and seeing what the latest news is, or the score of the game? - Or do we come with the intention of being FULLY PRESENT in this place to worship the Holy Triune God?

And are we

Being fully present in faith

Most human fear is deeply rooted in a fear of the “unknown”. It is why most of us fear death so much. Venturing into the unknown also brings up the fear of being alone. If we don’t know where we are going, or how we are getting there - who is to say if there will be someone to guide us? That is how the human species has survived. This fear of the unknown has helped us from the first time we began to form family units and tribes. This fear binds us together and also lets us keep out any thing or anyone who might not look like us, think like us, act like us. But God doesn’t call us to tribalism. God calls us into Community. This is VERY different than a tribe. A calling to community requires us to be open, to let go of those fears, to be fully present in our faith to declare:

The New Revised Standard Version (Treasure in Clay Jars)

13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak,

14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.

Community requires a faith that knows that all of “this” is just temporary. What is eternal is our life in Jesus - together. Our differences, our appearance, our buildings, our traditions - all just temporary “tents”, ready at any moment to be taken down, destroyed, blown away - what is eternal is not the building or place we meet - what is eternal is our bond in our faith in Jesus. This fully present faith requires us to put all of those “tents” in their proper place, knowing that our dwelling is in God, and God’s dwelling is in us - and together we walk in this...

The New Revised Standard Version (Chapter 5)

“building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

We must be fully present in mind, in faith, but are we

Being fully present in Ministry with Grace

In the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” George Bailey’s guardian angel asks his superior about George saying. “Is he sick?” The superior answered, “Worse than that, he’s discouraged.”

I don’t know about you, but there have been so many times this past year - this past week - this past Sunday - when I just wanted to give up, when I felt like George Bailey “discouraged”, or Paul - pressed, persecuted, struck down. I wanted to just go on an extended “leave of absence” from all things “pandemic” and request to just come back when it is all over. This “tent” was groaning under the weight of protocols, family, quarantines, and illness and death of those I loved. Yet I was also reminded over and over again that Grace given - is Grace received and Grace received - is also Grace given. And I was reminded by those around me. By Kathleen and her graceful laughter, by Carlos and his ability to just “roll” with it, by Diane and all those who came and volunteered to make this day happen - they reminded me that Grace was still present - and it was still present for and with ME! Paul makes it clear that this is for the sake of ministry - AND in doing “everything for the sake of the Church” he also received the gift of Grace to keep ministry alive for himself - AND for all those he ministered with throughout Palestine and Europe. Grace - like Love - is not transactional. Grace is transformational. And all things transformational can only be received when given and given when received.

So in being fully present in ministry and grace are we also

Being fully present in Spirit

Indwelling of the Spirit happens with or without or even during persecution. God's indwelling is not dependent upon our circumstances, only our faith. The extraordinary power belongs to God - and it is ONLY in being fully present to the Holy Spirit of God working in and through us, can we truly access this power. It is not of us. And when we lose sight of that - we risk losing sight of the Spirit’s very presence in our lives.

These failings are temporary - but the Holy Spirit in all of us - is for eternity!

So Paul would also ask us, are we

Being fully present to The Church

If every single thing goes wrong - breaks - ceases to work in the way intended - GRACE still abounds, for these things are temporary and God WILL prevail. Whether we meet here, in our homes, in the Sanctuary - The Grace of God follows us, as long as we keep our treasure - God dwelling in US !

Guess what - The Pastor is not supposed to DO IT ALL! - We - the Body of Christ - together - in Community - The Church is the living, breathing presence of Christ on Earth - therefore these “earthen vessels” these “clay jars” called our humanness must be fully present to The Church - The Body of Christ in and with US!

The New Revised Standard Version Treasure in Clay Jars

4 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.

How do we not lose heart? By being FULLY present to the Church at work in the world. We see mere humans doing the very work of God. Bringing love, hope, and grace to and with the world. That puts everything into perspective.

The New Revised Standard Version Living by Faith

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

Being fully present allows us to

Experience full Presence

So how do we experience the Full Presence of Christ in our lives? I believe Paul lays a case that in order to experience the Full Presence - we must be fully present! We are to focus on the inner nature of God dwelling within us. This is how we "enter the presence". We should not focus on the temporary or earthly. Not even on the buildings, and the technology, and beauty around us - but on one another and the Full Presence of the Power of God working in us.

By that, and only that, we come into the very Presence of Christ - not by our own doing, but by the power of God in us! And by that

The New Revised Standard Version (Treasure in Clay Jars)

... we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into Christ’s presence.

Us WITH You - Together we experience the full Presence of Christ. Together we bring one another. When one of us stumbles, fails, feels discouraged - as the old soul song says - we Lean on each other. The Jesus in me supports the Jesus in you. And the Jesus in you supports the Jesus in me, until we can fully and completely come into the very Presence of the Living Christ as one! And this is our

Our Guarantee

Trials, falures, and mistakes, like these earthly vessels, are temporary. God in Us and God with Us is eternal. The indwelling of God through the Holy Spirit lets us know that NOW, HERE, in this place and time, we have this guarantee of being in the full presence of Christ.

Failing Forward!

Bishop Cynthia Harvey often says that in ministry we are going to often “fail” by human standards. There is a saying that says if you are not failing - you are not trying. She tells us that when we do fail, we can just pray to “Fail Forward!” Last Sunday was not a “dismal” failure. It was a SPECTACULAR FAILURE! And I say that with Joy! Church happened, as we sought ways on the fly to keep it going and not give up. We learned so much - not just of what we can do - but what we CAN’T do to make this new live and streaming service work. We acknowledged our human limitations and let the Power of God take over. We were offered grace - and were able to offer grace to others. And it WAS SPECTACULAR!

How about it? Are we, even now, leaning on one another to bring each other into the Full Presence of Christ?

Christ’s divine presence. Here. WITH. As we come TOGETHER, bringing one another, sharing our heavy loads and our failures, leaning on one another, knowing that the extraordinary power of God dwells in us!

As we come together in Holy Communion later in the service, I invite you to lift your cup with me and feel the presence of Christ in this place and to even say, “So here is to failing forward.” We are not crushed, forsaken, or destroyed. We got another chip in the jar - but our Treasure is secure! We live in Grace upon Grace in the very presence of Jesus to declare

We are one in Christ

One with each other,

And one in ministry to the whole world

Amen!

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