Bible Text: Matthew 4:12-23 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes |
With the help of June Kuhn, our church archivist, we were able to track down the very first sermon ever preached at Comox Valley Presbyterian Church. Now, this was before we were officially constituted as a congregation. As a result it comes from September 1994, when the first service at the rec centre took place. It is a sermon that speaks to a congregation just starting out, an ambitious thing to do, in the mid-1990s when church attendance was, and continues to be, on the decline. Quite appropriately The Rev. D’Arcy Lade shared a little bit about his own story and how he eventually, but reluctantly, heard God’s call to ministry. While D’Arcy and I are not all that similar in theology or style, I find the fact that we were both reluctant in pursuing a call to congregational ministry rather interesting. He and I would have had some great conversations trying to convince each other that we were indeed not only cut out but called to this vocation. In this very first sermon he references a term that I had never actually encountered before. He says that he is a “Jewel for Jesus”. He admits that at first he found the term rather silly, and not a very masculine term, for a man of his stature. But then he writes, “A jewel is a thing of beauty…a jewel is precious…a jewel is desirable…a jewel is sought after…a jewel is invested with worth by its owner…” It was through this description of a jewel that D’Arcy realized that he was a “jewel for Jesus”, but he then encourages this new congregation to think of themselves as “jewels for Jesus” and while this was a sermon for a novice congregation, D’Arcy’s words are rather timeless. As part of our 25th anniversary year the session has named stewardship as a top priority. Stewardship would have also been a top priority for the church 25 years ago and I can hear those words of encouragement in this very first sermon. On our 25th anniversary I would like to quote from this sermon. Hear D’Arcy’s words and think of how they apply today- to our church 25 years later. How are we to be jewels for Jesus and share that invested wealth. How do we hear and manifest Jesus’ call to be disciples. Hear D’Arcy’s words:
“I am a jewel for Jesus. But so, too, are each of you, “jewels for Jesus.” Believe me. Each of you is precious and beautiful and desirable and sought after by Jesus. Believe me. Because at times, like me, you may not want to believe it. You may laugh, uncomfortably, at the thought of being called a jewel for Jesus, as I did. You may not think of yourself as valuable because of a poor self-image or background. But, believe me, you are valuable! You are of immense worth! You have been bought at great price and invested with great beauty and called to share the wealth- just as I have. Believe it and feel good about yourself! Believe it as you look back over your story. Rejoice in the faith and the call each of you has by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
“”I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts.” Says Jesus. Now we may or may not be outcasts as defined [by Jesus or the Gospel writers], but let us look not only at those Jesus associated with, but those He called elsewhere to do His work. [There was] Matthew, a tax collector, Simon, a zealot-a religious political revolutionary…there are some fishermen: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. There is a Samaritan woman at the well, and there is the woman at the wall about to be stoned. There is devout, Christ-denying, Christian-persecuting Saul of Tarsus…There is you-whatever or whoever you happen to be! Why? Because something that doesn’t look like it is worth much is worth plenty!
“The followers of Jesus- those commissioned to do His work- are jewels! He sees in them a value that escapes the “moral minority”. He sees in them a value they do not see in themselves. He knows His love for them will transform their lives and they will be a sparkling and valuable testimony to Him and His grace and power.
“Jesus calls, not the righteous, but sinners, to gather at His Table. And who is without sin? Who is righteous? He collects His jewels about Him and in the process makes them holy and precious. They, in turn, give up their [old lives] to follow Him all the days of their lives. They acknowledge, both in themselves and in others, that what may look and feel like a lump of coal is but a diamond in the rough awaiting to take on the multifaceted brilliance of its Owner.”
I told you these words of D’Arcy’s were timeless. I also think that while those were words spoken to a people who were just starting to establish a church, that despite the 25 years of being active and engaged in the community, we need to continue to think of ourselves as not only having worth but constantly being called to use that worth. Jesus was walking along the water, while the about-to-be called disciples were engaged in their regular work. Fishermen were likely at the lower end of the socio-economic scale due to the fact that their work was dirty, physically challenging, and demanded their time from sun up to sun down. Yet Jesus is not bothered by their grit and grime. In fact, Jesus doesn’t ask about their education or abilities beyond fishing. Jesus simply calls them to follow him.
When Jesus calls the first disciples in Matthew they immediately respond to the summoning but it comes at a cost. The cost of discipleship is reflected in the abandonment of possessions, they are no longer fishermen, the abandonment of goods, they leave their nets, and family, they leave their father. I know that this morning I am speaking to a largely retired congregation and so those costs are not exactly relate-able but I think about the cost of time, energy, resources and talent that so many of you share in continuing the work of this church and I think that speaks to the cost of discipleship. However, I am here to remind us that if we want to continue to be of worth, if we want to continue to be jewels, in Christ’s crown, we must continue to shine.
The Biblical meaning of stewardship involves a theological belief that we are responsible for the world and must take care of it- through our time, labour and financial resources. It is about hearing that call and words of Jesus and doing something abut it. It means commitment. Stewardship means formally committing to giving gifts of time, labour and resources to support the work of the church. And if we are all jewels then we have worth beyond our imagining.
The Rev. Les Barclay, was the one to give the sermon and Benediction at our service of constitution on January 25th, 1995. In an interesting turn of events I actually officiated at Les’ funeral 8 years ago while I was serving at St. Andrew’s, Victoria. While we don’t have a copy of his sermon we do have a copy of his benediction. He said, “As you form a new congregation of God’s people, believing in Jesus Christ, depending on the power of the Holy Spirit, remember your high calling as disciples of Christ…Offer worship that belongs to God. Grown in Christ through the Word and Sacraments. Share your Spiritual gifts for the good of all.” That is who we are and that is what we will continue to be as stewards of God’s creation, as disciples, as jewels for Jesus. Amen