Sermon for January 15, 2023, 11:00 Service, Faith/La Fe Chris Jacobson

Sermon for January 15, 2023, 11:00 Service, Faith/La Fe

Chris Jacobson 

“Khierete!”  When I went to Greece and the city of Corinth, " Khierete" was a greeting that means "be happy" or "rejoice." In ancient Greece, this greeting was pronounced “kháirete” or “khairos” and to say “hello,” they said “rejoice.” "Khairos" also means "grace."

In my sermon last April, I taught you how to greet each other in Hebrew: “Shalom alekhem,” or simply “shalom.” Shalom means peace.

We read the beginning of the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. We read that Paul begins by saying "grace and peace to you" and other translations verse 3 simply says "Grace and peace to you." Since “khairos” means grace or joy, Paul is actually using the Greek greeting and the Jewish greeting. I say grace, joy and peace to you!  Khierete and shalom.

First, I am going to talk about the beginning to be a disciple.

I am an orchestra teacher in 2 elementary schools. In my work, I make disciples. I invite the children to be in my orchestra and learn a string instrument. In the beginning, my orchestra students are so happy at of being in the orchestra. In education, that's called the honeymoon.

In the gospel, it appears that the disciples are in the honeymoon. They are overjoyed to find the Messiah. "Messiah" is pronounced "Mashiakh" in Hebrew, and means "anointed." "Christ" was pronounced "khristós" in Greek, and also meant anointed. In the ancient kingdom of Israel, when a man became a king or a priest, he was anointed by pouring olive oil on his head. The Jews thought of the arrival of the messiah as a glorious king.

But look at how John the Baptist introduces Jesus: Lamb of God. Like a lamb sacrificed in the temple, they are going to kill Jesus.

Last week, I talked about my story of leaving Christian at 19 and my spiritual journey to return to Christian at 31. I told them about a winter living in Flagstaff, the snow made me to think of baptism, because the whole earth is covered with water in the form of snow. The snow also made me to think of lambs, because the wool of most of the lambs is white, and it looks like snow.

At this time, I had so many worries about my spiritual search. I remembered Jesus' words about worry:

26 Look at the birds of the sky: they do not sow or reap or store in barns; however, the heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27]

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not work or spin; 29 However, I tell you that not even Solomon, with all his splendor, dressed like one of them. 30 Will he not do much more for you people of little faith? (Matthew 6)

I thought, I don't have to worry about food and clothing, my worries are spiritual. Then I thought a lamb. A lamb provides us with meat, which is eaten. A lamb can also provide us with clothing from its wool!”

Christ, the lamb of God, is our spiritual food. Jesus said, you must eat my flesh and drink my blood. In this way, Christ is in us.

Christ, the lamb of God, is our clothing. In Galatians, Saint Paul tells us that

27 All who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3)

Thus, we are in Christ.

Then I felt a lot of peace, because I knew that I no longer have to worry about spiritual things, because the same heavenly father who feeds the birds gives me Christ as my spiritual food, and the heavenly father who gives me clothing to the flowers gives me Christ as my spiritual clothing. At that moment I became a disciple of Jesus again.

To take the first step of being a disciple, you need a mustard seed of faith.

Jesus told the first 2 disciples to “come and see” by inviting them to stay with him for a day. Jesus also invites us to take this first step. Come and see.

How can we take this first step?

I invite you to do a very simple exercise called "the empty chair." Choose a chair or seat here in the church and imagine that Jesus is sitting in this chair. This week, wherever you are, look for an empty chair, and imagine that Jesus is sitting there. If there is no chair, imagine that Jesus is standing. This is called practicing the presence of Christ. Remember this promise of Jesus,

(John 14:23) —Whoever loves me will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will make our home with him.

I invite you to practice this exercise in all your activities this week.

Now I am going to talk about the middle of the path of the disciple.

When the children are in my orchestra classes, the honeymoon ends and they see that it is a lot of work and they get very frustrated. Sometimes they want to quit orchestra. The same happens with a disciple of Christ.

The reading from Isaiah speaks of the mission of another “servant of God,” and today we hear some of his problems in fulfilling this mission. The servant says "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and for vanity."

I invite you now to think about work in which you were frustrated. When have you spent your strength for nothing? When have you felt that you have labored in vain?

Even in these moments, it is possible to find joy and peace in these moments. We must support each other as a church in these moments.

Now I will speak of a point further along on the path of a disciple.

In my children's orchestras, a wonderful thing happens. When many children play an instrument at the same time, they form a single sound. When children play different notes on different instruments, they form a single chord, and they create the beauty of harmony.

As Saint Paul teaches us in Romans 1, creation teaches us the things of God. Look at the prayer that Jesus prays before his crucifixion. He prays to his father that his disciples may be one, just as you, my father, and I are one. The music shows this unity.

The human body also shows this unity, because millions of cells form a single body. A human body is like a symphony orchestra. A year ago, here in church, we studied I Corinthians chapter 12, where Saint Paul teaches that we are all part of the body of Christ, and just as each part of the body has its function, each one of us has different gifts from the Holy Spirit.

Today's reading from Corinthians talks about these gifts. Saint Paul says that he "gives thanks that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift!" Imagine a church that is not lacking in spiritual gifts! What a wonderful vision for this La Fe church: a community that lacks no spiritual gift, and where every time we gather together, we use these gifts with love for all.

The first disciples began an adventure. Adventures are joyful! May you have joy, grace, and peace on the path of the disciple, amen.