A community of joy
Commentary
Object:
The feast of the Ascension is the ideal time for us to discuss the role of the Church in the world today, because it pits the earthly view of the first disciples (“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”) and the heavenly view of Jesus (“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” [italics mine]; or, as in Luke’s gospel [24:47]: “...repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in [Jesus’] name to all nations...” [italics mine]). All through his work with them, Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples that the Reign of God is not like the earthly kingdoms they were used to. This was not a kingdom for the Jews alone. It was not a revolution to establish one ruler by war, but a revolution of the heart. They were not to stay in their own neighborhoods, nor even with their own people, but to go into all the world.
This is a message that the Church today needs to hear again. The Church has lost its power to insist on peace, or to dictate morals -- even on a personal level, let alone in public life. And that power has not been stolen from us; we handed it away when we decided that our mission was only to call people to personal repentance, and the purpose of salvation was only about opening the gates of heaven -- and only for those belonging to a local congregation. We handed it away when we decided that we could not say anything from the pulpit that might anger our parishioners enough to withhold their money, so that we might pay for buildings that are out-of-date and too large for our current members to support, either physically or financially.
The scriptures for Ascension are the same every year, much like Easter and Christmas and Pentecost. They are about the last meeting of the disciples and Jesus in this world, and the commission Christ gave them, making them apostles (those who are sent) rather than disciples (students). And they are also about the vast scope of what God was doing in Christ.
It’s not a good idea to dwell only on the business of how Jesus disappeared from their sight. We all probably have a Sunday school picture lodged in our minds of Jesus riding a cloud up into the sky, as Acts 1:9 says. But even the children in today’s Sunday school classes will tell you that what’s up in the sky are the planets and stars and galaxies, making up such a vast universe that the light from some of them has been traveling in our direction for millions of years. So what should we say about the magical qualities of Jesus leaving the disciples? Perhaps that this was the idea that people of that time and place believed, and so God gave them a vision that they would understand. The “two men in white robes” (v. 11) who suddenly were standing beside them give a good reprimand for those of us who would dwell on how Jesus was taken out of their sight rather than on the teachings he left behind: “...why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
Jesus had to say to them (and possibly also us): “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” It’s so easy for us to get interested in these sorts of details, rather than what Christ wants us to do. In his book The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis portrays some theologians sitting by the river that marks the boundary of heaven, discussing the things of God. But cross the river into the kingdom? No. They’re enjoying their arguments too much.
This is the greatest danger the Church faces today. When we focus on heaven and personal salvation, it distracts us from doing the work of the kingdom, which is to spread the Good News that God does not hate us or lie in wait to catch us in our sins, but loves us and wants the best for us, even when what we want is to destroy ourselves and others.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians does not stand apart from the gospel and Acts. He is talking to a group of people who never knew Jesus of Nazareth. They have come to Christ after the resurrection and ascension. Paul compliments their faith, which is evident in the love they show for one another, and he encourages them to know that the power of God is available not only for their spiritual welfare but also that they can spread the Good News everywhere -- not only in Asia Minor, but all over the world. Bound together in love, they protect each other and encourage each other as they face an unbelieving world.
Acts 1:1-11
The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, a Syrian doctor who is mentioned several times in Paul’s letters (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; and Philemon 1:24). So the “first book” he refers to in opening this writing would be his own gospel. He addresses it to “Theophilus,” who may or may not have been a real person since the name means “Loving Friend of God,” which could be a name for any believer in Christ. Many scholars say that the two books should be seen and read as one, and today’s scriptures illustrate this, as they overlap.
The gospel tells the story of Jesus and what he taught, how he died and was resurrected, and how he passed on to the disciples the responsibility of continuing to teach what they had learned.
The book of Acts picks up the story at the Ascension and the “Great Commission” of the disciples to carry on the work of Christ. John Dominic Crossan has said that the major difference between the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus is that John did the baptizing, healing, and preaching while his students looked on. But Jesus expected his disciples to do the same things he had been doing even while he was among them, and that they would carry on when he was gone. This is the reason he kept telling them that he was going to die, even when they didn’t want to hear it. They needed to be ready.
But they still did not understand. They are fixated on the kingdom being restored to Israel, rather than the Jews being under the thumb of Rome (v. 6). He repressively replies that the plans of God are not their (or our) business. But he goes on -- not only is it none of their business what God will be doing, they are not yet ready for the work that they will be doing.
Then we get the “Great Commission”: “[Y]ou will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This commission has not been rescinded, either; no matter what we might want to do for God, we, like the disciples, are chiefly to report to others all that Jesus has done for us, for others, and for the world. We are intended to bring hope and joy to the world around us.
But we need what they needed -- the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings power: power to preach (Acts 2), power to heal (Acts 3), power to overcome our own worst selves. Peter, who had denied he knew Jesus when the chips were down, became a bold preacher that day. All of them were able to speak in languages they had never learned. Peter and John were given the power to heal with a touch. But most important, the Holy Spirit gives us courage as well as power.
Courage is needed today, when the world seems to be falling apart. The emigration of thousands of people from the war-torn Middle East has fanned the flames of fascism across Europe. People as far away from that conflict as we are resent the influx of refugees fleeing ideologies the refugees are as afraid of as we are. ISIL (or ISIS) terrifies us all with their mindless destruction of anything they don’t understand, even the ancient ruins of their own countries. National treasures are being sledgehammered and bombed. And any person who is not the same kind of Islamist as they are is killed and/or maimed, raped, and sold into every kind of slavery there is. Our own already politically divided country has taken to hand-to-hand violence at political rallies, while leaders shrill for protestors to be “taken away and punished.”
It seems we need the gift of the Holy Spirit today, to give us the courage we need to hold our nation together and to hold out the hope that our nation has stood for for over 300 years. It will not do for us to “stand looking up toward heaven” without action, either. We need to go out into the streets, as Peter and the rest of the apostles did, to preach the power of God, not nuclear power or the power of our war machine.
Likewise, it is not in the spirit of the Christ that we hide behind the walls of our churches. Like those disciples, we need to act in concert to see to it that our neighborhoods are built up rather than torn down; that our neighbors are educated and empowered to form strong families and neighborhood groups to help each other face the difficulties of our time. We need to face down the fearmongers and those who see how to turn a profit from the bad times that afflict so many parts of our world. That courage comes only through the Holy Spirit “coming upon us.”
Luke 24:44-53
The 24th chapter of Luke tells of appearances of Jesus after the resurrection. The disciples are informed by the women that the tomb is empty, and they have no way of making sense out of this. There is a hint in the story of the walk to Emmaus, where Jesus has been invited to have dinner with the two disciples who have encountered him on the road. Jesus takes up the bread and gives thanks for it, and in that moment “he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (v. 35). This is the basis for the communion service we all do in much the same way, which binds Christians into one body, no matter how scattered we may be.
But more was needed then, as now, and so Jesus, even as he parted from the disciples for the final time, told them to stay together until the Holy Spirit would descend and fill them up. They walked together out of Jerusalem into Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from the dead. Along the way, it seems he was still teaching them. But when they got there, he left them. They’re not bereaved any more, however. “They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God.”
What a marvelous place for them to gather! What could be a better place than the glorious temple, with its broad courts and tall pillars? And no one would find it odd that they were joyful in their worship. Visitors often made long pilgrimages to Jerusalem for just this purpose. But they, of course, were waiting for something -- the power that Jesus had promised. What would it be like? We can be sure they speculated, searching the scriptures for the promises of God, looking for examples of what had happened when the Spirit had been poured out on the prophets of old.
This festival of the church can be used to infuse our parishioners with a similar expectation. We could design banners around the gifts of the Spirit (Ephesians 5), or using the theme, “Go Forth and ____.” (Meaning, what might each of us undertake for Christ?) We could encourage our members to talk about the skills they have that could be put to use for God. We could plan a dinner to which we can send out invitations to our neighbors. If the weather is fine, we might worship as the early Christians did, outdoors, with lots of singing, inviting passersby to join in the songs. We might take on a special mission project, or begin plans to join in on a mission trip. I’m sure your church members can think of some ways to make the “sending forth” of the disciples relevant to your congregation and neighborhood.
Ephesians 1:15-23
The city of Ephesus was on the southwest coast of modern Turkey. It was an old city even when Paul was there, having existed before 550 BCE. (BCE is the new designation for “Before Christ”; it means “Before the Common [or Christian] Era.”) It was apparently originally settled by people who worshiped a native nature goddess in a temple constructed in her honor. When the Greeks took over the area in 356 BCE, they build an enormous temple dedicated to Artemis, their goddess of fertility. This temple was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately for historians, it was burned down. It was in the process of being rebuilt when Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE.
In Paul’s day, Ephesus was the leading city in the eastern Roman empire, and the leading seaport of the region. It boasted a medical school, a huge Ionian library, a triumphal arch, and a beautiful aqueduct. Its wealth was known all over the empire, and it drew merchants and traders from all over the world. It was also the world capital of the slave trade. It also had a sizeable Jewish population, with synagogues in which Paul preached when he stopped there briefly in about 51 AD as he was returning from Greece to Syria. There he met Priscilla and Aquila, and promised them that he would return if he could. When he did return a year or two later, he settled into a tent business with them and stayed three years, preaching and building the church there. He was so successful that in Acts 19:10 it says that “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.” This is also the city where the Christian preacher Apollos became so famous. And it is the place where Paul’s teaching was so powerful it caused a riot because the silversmiths who made miniatures of the Artemis statue for the tourist trade felt he was undermining their souvenir business.
It is to the Christians still living and worshiping in that setting that Paul writes. It is quite a compliment to them that he praises their faith and love, saying that he never ceases to pray for them. He has already seen that they have been able to keep to their faith in the midst of a city centered on money and the worship of a fertility goddess. In wishing for them that spirit of wisdom and revelation that has helped him to preach to and convert people in this great seaport, he is reminding them that this is the work that they are to be about as well.
He reminds us, also, that “all rule and authority and power and dominion” belong to our Lord Christ, who has been entrusted with it by God himself. And he reminds us that the church is the body -- the only body -- that Christ has in the world. If we will not act as the body of Christ, it is as though Christ has become paralytic.
We so often hear from our parishioners, “Well, this is my church, and I have never...” (usually speaking against some new idea that has been put forth). We pastors do the same thing. I was reminded of this a few years ago when I thoughtlessly said, “Oh, you’re serving Henry’s old church!” The poor current pastor had evidently heard that this grand old man of the church had served that church and “he did it this way” too many times, because he burst out: “No, it’s not Henry’s church, he’s been gone from there for 20 years!”
Oh dear. And of course, it was never Henry’s church; it was, is, and always will be Jesus Christ’s church. I apologized, and learned that for many of his parishioners it was still “Henry’s church.” Of course.
Paul’s letter puts Christ at the head of everything we work for. Every church is Christ’s body, and the various denominations and congregations are all Christ’s people, working together as though we were each individual cells in that body. Paul evidently found this to be such a great metaphor that he uses it again and again several times in Ephesians, as well as in Romans, First and Second Corinthians, and Colossians. We are here to do what Christ wants us to do. We do it in a body. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do this.
How hard it is to give the glory to God for what we do. We do research, we study, we pray, we write down our sermons (or at least outline them). If public speaking is not our strong suit, we practice them to our family members or in front of a mirror. And then we deliver them. And yet, Christ gets the credit. When that happens in a business, people complain and we say, “That’s right, your co-worker should not have taken all the credit, he should have said, ‘Well, Bruce here really did all the writing.’ ” But in our work we have to give Christ the credit. Because if we don’t, we will soon find that our ego is getting a bit big for the room, no matter how great the cathedral in which we speak.
It follows, then, that it is that much harder for our parishioners, who day in and day out do work for which they are never thanked, to “hand over” their power to Christ. They want to be appreciated as much as we do, and most of them are never performing before many people. And when they do get up to perform in our churches, there are many who say they should just do it and let God have the glory. No applause; little praise; often overlooked, doing their work behind the scenes in Sunday school rooms and in the kitchen. No wonder there is often jockeying for position in these areas! Far better to be applauded and then be gracious in “giving Christ the glory.”
We, who are not the head of the churches, no matter that we are the pastors, need to be certain that we build up that Body of Christ, that those doing the work are praised and encouraged, and that we make sure that their names are lifted up in worship, in the newsletter, and in the fellowship hall or meeting room. We don’t need a badly-used, tired, and abused Body of Christ.
This is a message that the Church today needs to hear again. The Church has lost its power to insist on peace, or to dictate morals -- even on a personal level, let alone in public life. And that power has not been stolen from us; we handed it away when we decided that our mission was only to call people to personal repentance, and the purpose of salvation was only about opening the gates of heaven -- and only for those belonging to a local congregation. We handed it away when we decided that we could not say anything from the pulpit that might anger our parishioners enough to withhold their money, so that we might pay for buildings that are out-of-date and too large for our current members to support, either physically or financially.
The scriptures for Ascension are the same every year, much like Easter and Christmas and Pentecost. They are about the last meeting of the disciples and Jesus in this world, and the commission Christ gave them, making them apostles (those who are sent) rather than disciples (students). And they are also about the vast scope of what God was doing in Christ.
It’s not a good idea to dwell only on the business of how Jesus disappeared from their sight. We all probably have a Sunday school picture lodged in our minds of Jesus riding a cloud up into the sky, as Acts 1:9 says. But even the children in today’s Sunday school classes will tell you that what’s up in the sky are the planets and stars and galaxies, making up such a vast universe that the light from some of them has been traveling in our direction for millions of years. So what should we say about the magical qualities of Jesus leaving the disciples? Perhaps that this was the idea that people of that time and place believed, and so God gave them a vision that they would understand. The “two men in white robes” (v. 11) who suddenly were standing beside them give a good reprimand for those of us who would dwell on how Jesus was taken out of their sight rather than on the teachings he left behind: “...why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”
Jesus had to say to them (and possibly also us): “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.” It’s so easy for us to get interested in these sorts of details, rather than what Christ wants us to do. In his book The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis portrays some theologians sitting by the river that marks the boundary of heaven, discussing the things of God. But cross the river into the kingdom? No. They’re enjoying their arguments too much.
This is the greatest danger the Church faces today. When we focus on heaven and personal salvation, it distracts us from doing the work of the kingdom, which is to spread the Good News that God does not hate us or lie in wait to catch us in our sins, but loves us and wants the best for us, even when what we want is to destroy ourselves and others.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians does not stand apart from the gospel and Acts. He is talking to a group of people who never knew Jesus of Nazareth. They have come to Christ after the resurrection and ascension. Paul compliments their faith, which is evident in the love they show for one another, and he encourages them to know that the power of God is available not only for their spiritual welfare but also that they can spread the Good News everywhere -- not only in Asia Minor, but all over the world. Bound together in love, they protect each other and encourage each other as they face an unbelieving world.
Acts 1:1-11
The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, a Syrian doctor who is mentioned several times in Paul’s letters (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; and Philemon 1:24). So the “first book” he refers to in opening this writing would be his own gospel. He addresses it to “Theophilus,” who may or may not have been a real person since the name means “Loving Friend of God,” which could be a name for any believer in Christ. Many scholars say that the two books should be seen and read as one, and today’s scriptures illustrate this, as they overlap.
The gospel tells the story of Jesus and what he taught, how he died and was resurrected, and how he passed on to the disciples the responsibility of continuing to teach what they had learned.
The book of Acts picks up the story at the Ascension and the “Great Commission” of the disciples to carry on the work of Christ. John Dominic Crossan has said that the major difference between the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus is that John did the baptizing, healing, and preaching while his students looked on. But Jesus expected his disciples to do the same things he had been doing even while he was among them, and that they would carry on when he was gone. This is the reason he kept telling them that he was going to die, even when they didn’t want to hear it. They needed to be ready.
But they still did not understand. They are fixated on the kingdom being restored to Israel, rather than the Jews being under the thumb of Rome (v. 6). He repressively replies that the plans of God are not their (or our) business. But he goes on -- not only is it none of their business what God will be doing, they are not yet ready for the work that they will be doing.
Then we get the “Great Commission”: “[Y]ou will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This commission has not been rescinded, either; no matter what we might want to do for God, we, like the disciples, are chiefly to report to others all that Jesus has done for us, for others, and for the world. We are intended to bring hope and joy to the world around us.
But we need what they needed -- the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings power: power to preach (Acts 2), power to heal (Acts 3), power to overcome our own worst selves. Peter, who had denied he knew Jesus when the chips were down, became a bold preacher that day. All of them were able to speak in languages they had never learned. Peter and John were given the power to heal with a touch. But most important, the Holy Spirit gives us courage as well as power.
Courage is needed today, when the world seems to be falling apart. The emigration of thousands of people from the war-torn Middle East has fanned the flames of fascism across Europe. People as far away from that conflict as we are resent the influx of refugees fleeing ideologies the refugees are as afraid of as we are. ISIL (or ISIS) terrifies us all with their mindless destruction of anything they don’t understand, even the ancient ruins of their own countries. National treasures are being sledgehammered and bombed. And any person who is not the same kind of Islamist as they are is killed and/or maimed, raped, and sold into every kind of slavery there is. Our own already politically divided country has taken to hand-to-hand violence at political rallies, while leaders shrill for protestors to be “taken away and punished.”
It seems we need the gift of the Holy Spirit today, to give us the courage we need to hold our nation together and to hold out the hope that our nation has stood for for over 300 years. It will not do for us to “stand looking up toward heaven” without action, either. We need to go out into the streets, as Peter and the rest of the apostles did, to preach the power of God, not nuclear power or the power of our war machine.
Likewise, it is not in the spirit of the Christ that we hide behind the walls of our churches. Like those disciples, we need to act in concert to see to it that our neighborhoods are built up rather than torn down; that our neighbors are educated and empowered to form strong families and neighborhood groups to help each other face the difficulties of our time. We need to face down the fearmongers and those who see how to turn a profit from the bad times that afflict so many parts of our world. That courage comes only through the Holy Spirit “coming upon us.”
Luke 24:44-53
The 24th chapter of Luke tells of appearances of Jesus after the resurrection. The disciples are informed by the women that the tomb is empty, and they have no way of making sense out of this. There is a hint in the story of the walk to Emmaus, where Jesus has been invited to have dinner with the two disciples who have encountered him on the road. Jesus takes up the bread and gives thanks for it, and in that moment “he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread” (v. 35). This is the basis for the communion service we all do in much the same way, which binds Christians into one body, no matter how scattered we may be.
But more was needed then, as now, and so Jesus, even as he parted from the disciples for the final time, told them to stay together until the Holy Spirit would descend and fill them up. They walked together out of Jerusalem into Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus from the dead. Along the way, it seems he was still teaching them. But when they got there, he left them. They’re not bereaved any more, however. “They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple blessing God.”
What a marvelous place for them to gather! What could be a better place than the glorious temple, with its broad courts and tall pillars? And no one would find it odd that they were joyful in their worship. Visitors often made long pilgrimages to Jerusalem for just this purpose. But they, of course, were waiting for something -- the power that Jesus had promised. What would it be like? We can be sure they speculated, searching the scriptures for the promises of God, looking for examples of what had happened when the Spirit had been poured out on the prophets of old.
This festival of the church can be used to infuse our parishioners with a similar expectation. We could design banners around the gifts of the Spirit (Ephesians 5), or using the theme, “Go Forth and ____.” (Meaning, what might each of us undertake for Christ?) We could encourage our members to talk about the skills they have that could be put to use for God. We could plan a dinner to which we can send out invitations to our neighbors. If the weather is fine, we might worship as the early Christians did, outdoors, with lots of singing, inviting passersby to join in the songs. We might take on a special mission project, or begin plans to join in on a mission trip. I’m sure your church members can think of some ways to make the “sending forth” of the disciples relevant to your congregation and neighborhood.
Ephesians 1:15-23
The city of Ephesus was on the southwest coast of modern Turkey. It was an old city even when Paul was there, having existed before 550 BCE. (BCE is the new designation for “Before Christ”; it means “Before the Common [or Christian] Era.”) It was apparently originally settled by people who worshiped a native nature goddess in a temple constructed in her honor. When the Greeks took over the area in 356 BCE, they build an enormous temple dedicated to Artemis, their goddess of fertility. This temple was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Unfortunately for historians, it was burned down. It was in the process of being rebuilt when Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE.
In Paul’s day, Ephesus was the leading city in the eastern Roman empire, and the leading seaport of the region. It boasted a medical school, a huge Ionian library, a triumphal arch, and a beautiful aqueduct. Its wealth was known all over the empire, and it drew merchants and traders from all over the world. It was also the world capital of the slave trade. It also had a sizeable Jewish population, with synagogues in which Paul preached when he stopped there briefly in about 51 AD as he was returning from Greece to Syria. There he met Priscilla and Aquila, and promised them that he would return if he could. When he did return a year or two later, he settled into a tent business with them and stayed three years, preaching and building the church there. He was so successful that in Acts 19:10 it says that “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.” This is also the city where the Christian preacher Apollos became so famous. And it is the place where Paul’s teaching was so powerful it caused a riot because the silversmiths who made miniatures of the Artemis statue for the tourist trade felt he was undermining their souvenir business.
It is to the Christians still living and worshiping in that setting that Paul writes. It is quite a compliment to them that he praises their faith and love, saying that he never ceases to pray for them. He has already seen that they have been able to keep to their faith in the midst of a city centered on money and the worship of a fertility goddess. In wishing for them that spirit of wisdom and revelation that has helped him to preach to and convert people in this great seaport, he is reminding them that this is the work that they are to be about as well.
He reminds us, also, that “all rule and authority and power and dominion” belong to our Lord Christ, who has been entrusted with it by God himself. And he reminds us that the church is the body -- the only body -- that Christ has in the world. If we will not act as the body of Christ, it is as though Christ has become paralytic.
We so often hear from our parishioners, “Well, this is my church, and I have never...” (usually speaking against some new idea that has been put forth). We pastors do the same thing. I was reminded of this a few years ago when I thoughtlessly said, “Oh, you’re serving Henry’s old church!” The poor current pastor had evidently heard that this grand old man of the church had served that church and “he did it this way” too many times, because he burst out: “No, it’s not Henry’s church, he’s been gone from there for 20 years!”
Oh dear. And of course, it was never Henry’s church; it was, is, and always will be Jesus Christ’s church. I apologized, and learned that for many of his parishioners it was still “Henry’s church.” Of course.
Paul’s letter puts Christ at the head of everything we work for. Every church is Christ’s body, and the various denominations and congregations are all Christ’s people, working together as though we were each individual cells in that body. Paul evidently found this to be such a great metaphor that he uses it again and again several times in Ephesians, as well as in Romans, First and Second Corinthians, and Colossians. We are here to do what Christ wants us to do. We do it in a body. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do this.
How hard it is to give the glory to God for what we do. We do research, we study, we pray, we write down our sermons (or at least outline them). If public speaking is not our strong suit, we practice them to our family members or in front of a mirror. And then we deliver them. And yet, Christ gets the credit. When that happens in a business, people complain and we say, “That’s right, your co-worker should not have taken all the credit, he should have said, ‘Well, Bruce here really did all the writing.’ ” But in our work we have to give Christ the credit. Because if we don’t, we will soon find that our ego is getting a bit big for the room, no matter how great the cathedral in which we speak.
It follows, then, that it is that much harder for our parishioners, who day in and day out do work for which they are never thanked, to “hand over” their power to Christ. They want to be appreciated as much as we do, and most of them are never performing before many people. And when they do get up to perform in our churches, there are many who say they should just do it and let God have the glory. No applause; little praise; often overlooked, doing their work behind the scenes in Sunday school rooms and in the kitchen. No wonder there is often jockeying for position in these areas! Far better to be applauded and then be gracious in “giving Christ the glory.”
We, who are not the head of the churches, no matter that we are the pastors, need to be certain that we build up that Body of Christ, that those doing the work are praised and encouraged, and that we make sure that their names are lifted up in worship, in the newsletter, and in the fellowship hall or meeting room. We don’t need a badly-used, tired, and abused Body of Christ.
