About

"KING ME!"When I came to this community 33 years ago, Miami Beach wason a downward spiral - which had a very negative effect on the church.The congregation dwindled, the funds lessened. I realized that I wouldhave to be the glue to hold things together until the City itself turned around.That came to my mind when I read this commentary on ourScripture lesson from the first chapter of Colossians: "The historicalJesus is here being proclaimed as that grand beginning point of awhole new creation that will displace the old. In verse 17, the mostsweeping claim for this new king of creation is that "all things holdtogether in him" Christ the King is the glue that keeps the cosmostogether."I don't know about you, but I think we're hanging on by a thread-as a result of the direction in which we're going ecologically and politically- we could drown ourselves or blow ourselves up if we don't change.The Apostle, Paul could pray the same prayer for us he prayed for theColossians: "This is what we pray - that you will know fully whatGod wants; that with your knowledge you will also have greatwisdom and understanding in spiritual things; that this will help you livein a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in everyway, that your life will produce good works of every kind and thatyou will grow in your knowledge of God, that God will strengthenyou with his own great power, and that you will be patient and notgive up when troubles come."The basis for "understanding spiritual things" is tounderstand who Jesus is.Not everyone within the sound of my voice will agree with me asto my understanding of who Jesus is. Despite my liberal stance on socialissues and my belief that God Is Still Speaking, thus setting aside somethings we have heard or read before - even in the Scriptures - I have avery high Christology.I personally believe that Jesus was present at the right hand of theHeavenly Father when all that is was created. "Without him was notmade anything that was made" as John the gospel writer put it. Ibelieve what the same gospel writer proclaimed that Jesus was the"expression of God" the "Word" of God - that He was with God and wasGod or as our text today Colossians 1:15 puts it, "He is the image ofthe invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." I believe that whenJesus was here on Earth, God was here on Earth - that to know whatJesus is like is to know what God is like - that although He had the powerto wipe out and destroy any of His enemies or those of the Jews, or thoseof mankind, - he chose to demonstrate the power of loving sacrifice -the giving of Life rather than the taking of life.If we as Christians were doing our job, our nation would bespending as much on peace as they are on war. At a minimum, weshould be working as aggressively to bring peace as we are to bringwar.Our Department of Peace should receive as much in finding as ourDepartment of War.Our denomination, the United Church of Christ has the right idea- currently collecting money to provide assistance to the over four millionpeople who have been displaced by the Iraq War - two million internallyand two million who have fled to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.On a personal level, you miss a world of peace and tranquility bynot living daily in the context of Who Jesus Is - King of Kings and Lord ofLords.Who or what is Lord of your life? Constantine became a"Christian" and made Christianity the official religion of the State andChristianity has been going down hill ever since. Christianity was defined,trimmed, smoothed and changed to fit imperial policy. It allowedConstantine to continue to rob kill, burn, fight and execute. What is wrongwith that picture. What is wrong with our picture.To bring "our picture" into focus and to take our first step on ourjourney to "real" Christianity, we have to see that Jesus is the King ofKings.Knowing that Jesus is "King of Kings" means that YOU are "achild of the King". As such you have some privileges. Because you're"family" you are allowed into the Presence of the King of Kings. You livein the mansion! A place in the Palace is yours!When Jesus said, "In my Father's House are manymansions", he wasn't talking about something that is going to be, butalready is. Once we set our foot on the discipleship trail, we are "ineternal life." And here is precisely where we go wrong, because mostmodern disciples give 99 % of their thought into the physical world andhopefully, at least 1% on the realm of the Spirit in which they now live.Most of us nod to God in the morning and hurry our devotions inthe evening, more to say we have done them than to get something fromthem. I don't advocate giving up set times at the beginning and ending ofyour day for giving attention to godly things - but additionally, I advocatePRACTICING THE PRESENCE.If we are indeed the King's Kid - and we do live in the palace, inthe Presence of the King - then we should bask in the Nearness of thedivinity.For some reason we don't expect Divinity in the daily doings ofour lives - but if not there, then where? It's time for "Andy" to make hisappearance. The hymn, In the Garden took some hits because of thewords, And He walked with me, And He talked with me.....which becameparaphrased as "Andy walked with me - Andy talked with me." Butvisualizing Jesus walking and talking with you is as good a way to Practicethe Presence as you can find. And Jesus is joined by others.I'm a big believer in not going anywhere without being "in thecompany of the saints." At communion, the liturgy says- "With angelsand archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnifyThy Glorious Name." Don't leave home without them.!"Of course, you will be known by the company you keep! Imentioned to a friend the other night that reincarnationists believe that todevelop our souls we have many sojourns on this earth - until we get itright I would guess! AND that they believe we often interact with some ofthe same people we have known in other incarnations, although the rolesoften change - someone who is a good friend in one incarnation may be abrother to you in the next. The husband may reincarnate as the wife andthe wife the husband - now THERE'S an interesting thought. Turn aboutis fair play it would seem, but he thought I shouldn't mention such things asreincarnation, lest the men in the little white coats come to get me... inwhich case I'll be in good company - Jesus said that John the Baptist wasElijah who had lived centuries before - and as you recall - they dressedthe same - and had the same mission in life - preaching - and lived on thesame foods. Coincidence? In the realm of the Spirit, there are nocoincidences!In the realm of the Spirit, there are always interesting concepts todiscuss and consider. I DO believe that some people reincarnate. Iremember one of mine - I was a priest - and I remember only walking andreading as I made my way around a cloister - which is an area within amonastery or convent, a covered passage, having one side walled and theother an open arcade often with a series of columns set at regular intervals- a colonnade. On my vacation I saw a cloister something like the one ofmy past.Yes, I'm suspicious that so many people claim to have beenCleopatra or Julius Caesar - or are told that they were by unscrupulousmoney makers, but it cannot be dismissed out of hand - if it's good enoughfor Jesus - it's good enough for me!Another advantage in living in the Palace - in the realm of the Kingof Kings is learning how God interacts with mankind. Beware, this willcause you to put away any "Errand boy in the Sky" practice you may havehad. You can no longer have the "Gimme God Blues" - that's when Godwon't gimmie what I want him to gimme - and I get the Gimmie GodBlues. ( I try not to go there!)It is so much more fun to see what I can give because that's theway people in God's Kingdom get turned on - by doing something forsomeone else, by being of service - by being in ministry.As Palace People we are in full time Christian service, althoughthe devil tries to get us to believe only paid employees of the church are infull time Christian service - and that's the way the devil would like it - farbe it from us to please the devil - much nicer to give him a hard time bytaking our ministries seriously.At the Thanksgiving Eve ecumenical service I told a story told byThe Rev. James Howell, pastor of the Myers Park United MethodistChurch in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was his own story of wonderingif he should even BE in the ministry: The reason I am still in the ministryis because of the night I decided to leave the ministry. It was myday off. The phone rang, and it was the chaplain at a nearby hospital.Usually we would exchange pleasantries, but all she said was,"Come to the hospital - now!" I trusted the urgency in her voiceand arrived in about ten minutes.I found her with a young couple I knew and loved from ourchurch. I sensed shrieks and sobs lingering in the room, which waseerily silent: the wife and the husband fell onto my shoulders. Icould hardly bear their weight as they gasped for words. Theirchild, Caroline, whom I had baptized a couple of weeks earlier hadjust been diagnosed with a malignant tumor intertwined with herspinal cord at the base of the brain."Another minister who knew the family materialized. Hisdemeanor startled me: smiling, confident, speaking many words,assuring the parents with an utterly confident grin that "God willsave your child if you just pray."I'm ordained, he's ordained, but I felt no kinship with him.I oscillated between wanting to strangle him and wanting to be morelike him. Why have I never been able to be pious? When did Ibecome the grim pastor who expects the worst? Sure, his style ofpastoring seemed trite, absurd - and yet, what good was I doing?About that time, the pediatric oncologist came in - calm,intelligent, well-trained, impressive. I remember him as being verytall. He had a plan. As he unfolded his strategy, I remember thosesmart grown-ups who had advised me to go to medical school, andI wish I had, because as a minister, I had nothing - literally nothingto offer to these people I loved so much. Had I gone to medicalschool, I could do something...."Then her parents asked me for a favor. "We are exhausted.Caroline won't stop crying. Could you hold her for a little while sowe can step out and take a little break?" And so I took this childin my arms and rocked her. She cried and I cried, and then havingexpended all her energy, she drifted off to sleep. I kept rockingher until her parents came back, a little bit rested, relieved to seeher more peaceful. We placed her gently in the crib, and then I leftthem, took the elevator downstairs and stepped through the doorinto the night.As I felt the chill against my face, I knew I would not quitthe ministry. It was as if my whole life had been a preparation forthis dark evening. All the wrestling with what career to pursue,counsel from professors, the books, papers, degrees, hurdles ofordination: I had been in training for this day, so that on this day Icould drive to Durham and give two parents a little bit of rest - andto rock a very sick child to sleep, just to hold this little one whoseemed to have as little hope as I did.It was around midnight that I had to answer a question:Why did I go into the ministry? To do something grand andimpressive? Or because I thought I might love somebody, somefamily, some child, in God's name. Holding Caroline, I wondered:isn't this what Mary did with Jesus when he was sick during thenight? Didn't she embrace him when he was taken down from thecross? Isn't this what God Almighty had been doing we me allthese years? And on one night, I was able to help. I held a child.I fulfilled my vocation, the small impotence of it all turning out tobe the beauty."Your ministry is simply to be doing what God does with you- to hold the hurting, to encourage the depressed, to support thoseweakened by what life can do to the weary. In fact, if you didn't doit, God couldn't get anything done, for you're the way He gets hismission accomplished - as we emulate and follow the King of Kings.When I was a kid, we played checkers, and I recall that if you gotyour single checker across to the other side of the Board, you could yellout KING ME! And another checker would be added to yours, whichdeferred princely powers to the unit - you could do things now, you nevergood before! That's the way God does things, as our mission makes adifference - my mission makes a difference. " KING ME!"Sermon Notes(Not edited nor proofed)The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community ChurchA sermon is a simple truth told by someone whobelieves it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)November 25, 2007 10:30 a, m. Colossians 1:11-20May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heartsbe acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiamiBeachCommunityChurch