Nov. 23rd, 2018
“Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God, and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful.”
–Doctrine and Covenants Section 26:11
Well Good morning! Thank you being here this morning, it is always a privilege to get to share with you. And this morning I invite you to continue your journey as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Having said that, we might ask the question, what exactly is a disciple of Jesus Christ? Well, we might say a follower of Jesus Christ. We might say someone who believes in Jesus Christ; specifically, in the various claims made about him throughout all of Christendom.
We might say that a disciple is someone who promotes Christ’s teachings, or who promotes Jesus Christ Himself. But what does it actually mean to promote Jesus Christ? If you follow Christ’s teachings, what are you actually doing?
Well, ideally, you are living your own life in a manner that follows the examples set by Christ himself. Presumably, you are promoting what he promoted. Hopefully you are teaching what he taught. Quite possibly you are furthering the same causes that he upheld. Preferably, you listen to what Christ said. And hopefully, you continue to listen to what Christ is saying now.
And hopefully, as disciples, we are doing all of that collectively, as His church. When you think about it, we, the disciples of Christ, and the Church are really the same thing. And I say that because the Church is the total sum membership, or body, of all those who have made a covenant with Jesus Christ, and who strive to honor that covenant.
And as His church, it stands to reason that we would always be desirous, as our opening verse encourages us, to listen to the voice of Jesus Christ. And why is that important? Well, to put it simply, we need to do that to ensure that we are doing what the Church should be doing. If we fail to listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, it becomes far too easy to lose sight of what the very purpose of the Church is. And we need to understand the purpose of the Church, because in so doing, we will be continually reminded of the work and ministry that we have been called to do. But, just what is the purpose of the church?
I’ve been thinking about that question a lot lately: what is the purpose of the church? And as I’ve been doing so, it occurred to me that we probably all take the purpose of the church for granted – but, I’ve learned over the years that if we don’t return to the foundation from time to time, the perceived meaning of something can actually drift from it’s actual meaning. So it can be helpful to re-examine things like this from time to time.
There are of course many ways to define what the purpose of the church is. One way that I personally understand the purpose of the church is as follows:
“to encourage the worship of God according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.”
Those are my own words, something I pulled out of one of my prior sermons. But it still rings true to me. If we really get down to the basics, I think that sums up the very reason why Christianity exists, in terms of it’s point. Christian disciples, and thus the Church itself, exist to encourage the worship of God according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
And if we listen to the Voice of Jesus Christ, I believe that He implied this, in the Great Commission, which states:
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” –Matthew 28:18-20 (NRSV)
In fact, another way we could define the purpose of the church is to support, or further, the Great Commission itself. It would be very appropriate to say that our purpose as disciples of Jesus Christ, or our purpose as the Church, is to do just that…to progress the Great Commission.
Another way we can define the purpose of the church is to look at Christ’s mission. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that Christ was in a synagogue, and he quoted a passage from Isaiah, saying the following words:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” —Luke 4:18–19 NRSV
That passage has been understood to be the essence of Christ’s mission. But what does it mean?
In 2011, President Veazey provides some commentary on this passage. With regard to the words “let the oppressed go free”, he said that they translate more directly from Greek as
“to send away in freedom those who have been crushed.” That is pretty powerful. Who in this world has been crushed under the weight of oppression, or the burdens of life, and how might we send them away in freedom?
With regard to the words “To bring good news to the poor” we are told that “means evangelism in the fullest sense of the term. It means gospel proclamation in word and action, including invitation and welcoming hospitality!”
We are also told “To bring good news to the poor” and “recovery of sight to the blind” also means caring and healing ministry for the hurt, grief-stricken, and brokenhearted.”
With regard to the words “To release the captives” and “let the oppressed go free,” and “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”, President Veazey said this: [it] is clearly about ministries of justice and peacemaking. The phrase “the year of the Lord’s favor” is particularly informative. It refers to specified times in the Hebrew calendar when steps were taken to restore balance and harmony to community relationships. The goal was to remedy social and economic injustices to better reflect the will of God. Jesus was saying that time is now and always!”
President Veazey concludes his commentary by saying: “it is not enough just to care for people in their suffering. The mission includes ministries that release people from unfair or crushing conditions that cause suffering. Jesus’ mission is about restoring people to wholeness in healthy community.”
So we can see, for some very good reasons, that it would be very appropriate to say that our purpose is to move the mission of Jesus Christ forward. And, of course, this mission is all scripturaly based, so it is again grounded in listening to the voice of Jesus Christ.
This emphasis on Christ’s mission has become so prominent in Community of Christ that
we have a new catch phrase, which is this: “Christ’s Mission, Our Mission”. I love those words, as they really help remind us that our purpose is not simply to preach about Jesus Christ, but to take on His mission as our own mission.
But God took it one step further. One of our most recent revelations ends with these words:
“The mission of Jesus Christ is what matters most for the journey ahead”. –Section 164:9f
Think about that. We have been told in our modern revelations that the mission of Jesus Christ is what matters most. And we have declared that Christ’s mission is our mission. So, that seems to be a very clear indication of what our purpose is.
To help us understand Christ’s mission the church of course created the five mission initiatives. And when they were introduced, church leadership said: “These five mission initiatives are not new programs that begin and end at certain times. They build upon our mission statement and the foundation of…[our] Enduring Principles. They are unceasing emphases that ensure Community of Christ is being faithful now and in the future to the full mission of Jesus Christ.”
Another way we can look at our purpose is by looking at our mission statement. So in addition to having our five mission initiatives, we also have our mission statement, which is as follows:
“We proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.”
Proclaiming Jesus Christ is of course also rooted in scripture, because that is the heart of the Great Commission that we spoke about earlier. It is also rooted in our modern revelations which include words such as:
“Stand firm in the name of the One you proclaim” –Section 161:6a
But what does it mean to proclaim Jesus Christ? A helpful resource for this purpose is our nine point Christology statement, which I’d like to share with you today. I also feel it is appropriate to do so at this time as a way of preparing ourselves for Advent.
1. As members of Community of Christ, we are bound together with Christians in every place and in every time by our confession of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, author of our salvation, and head of the church.
2. Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, both fully human and fully divine. In him we see ourselves and we see God, whom he tenderly called Abba, the compassionate One, who gave birth to all of creation and declared it to be “very good.” Together with the Holy Spirit, they are one.
3. By the mystery of the incarnation, Jesus, born of Mary, came into the world to live and dwell among us to reveal God’s nature and will. He prophetically condemned injustice in the temple and proclaimed the good news of the coming reign of God on earth, preaching liberation to the oppressed and repentance to oppressors. He taught his followers to love God, to love their neighbors, and to love their enemies. By eating with sinners, serving the poor, healing the unclean, blessing children, and welcoming women and men as equals among his disciples, Jesus declared that all persons are of worth in the sight of God.
4. Jesus was betrayed by his own friends, accused of blasphemy and treason, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to die on a cross between two common criminals. By forgiving his murderers and choosing to take on the sin, pain, and suffering of the whole world, he reconciled all of humanity to God.
5. On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating his life and ministry, and triumphing over all injustice, even death itself. He ascended into heaven, having entrusted his followers with authority to minister in his name to the ends of the earth. He sent the Holy Spirit to be with them in their witness of the good news of the Resurrection.
6. Christ is our peace, breaking down the dividing walls of hostility between us. He promises us the redemption and healing of our relationships with God, one another, and all of creation.
7. The church, the body of Christ, is called to proclaim the gospel until Christ comes again. It is he who forgives us in baptism, and feeds us at his table. As disciples of Christ, we are all called to conform our lives to his by living in loving community with others, seeing Jesus in the faces of the least of God’s children, and serving those whom the world has forgotten. It is to Christ and to his gospel that we declare our loyalty and by which we will be judged.
8. The promises of God in Jesus Christ are sure—that by the Holy Spirit we will be given grace to do the things we have been asked: courage in the struggle for justice, passion for peace in the midst of violence, forgiveness of our sin, stewardship in place of materialism, healing of body and spirit where there is hurt, and eternal life in the face of death.
9. We live and serve in hope that God’s kingdom of justice and peace will indeed come, bringing healing to the whole, groaning creation. Putting our trust in the Risen Christ, present among us by the Holy Spirit, we press on together, giving blessing, honor, and glory to God, now and forevermore. Amen.
So there you have it. That is our Christology statement, and you can find that on our church website by doing a search on the words “We Proclaim Jesus Christ”, which again, is the first part our mission statement.
The other half of our mission statement instructs us to “promote communities of joy, hope, love and peace”.
Sometimes I feel that this portion of our mission statement overshadows the first portion. And I think we sometimes lose sight of what these words are calling us to do. If we are promoting any type of community that is joyful, and has hope, and is grounded in love, and which fosters peace, we are following our mission statement.
But I like to say that we are called to promote sacred communities of joy, hope, love and peace, and which further the church’s call to make Christ’s mission, our mission.
Section 161:6a gives us this guidance:
“create diverse communities of disciples and seekers, rejoicing in the continuing fulfillment of the call to this people to prophetically witness in the name of Jesus Christ.”
The booklet “Sharing in Community of Christ” states, regarding community building:
“We promote local and worldwide communities that…represent [or] reveal the peaceful
reign of God on Earth. Some call this the cause…of Zion. When we effectively proclaim Jesus Christ by sharing our witness, ministries, and sacraments, and promote Christ-centered communities of justice and peacefulness, we are sharing the peace of Jesus Christ.”
So now that we have explored our mission statement, I think it is clear why we might wish to view that as our purpose. In fact, the Church has actually said that it is our purpose. Its officially declared in our Church bylaws, which state in Article II:
“The purpose and mission of the church is to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.”
So, there you have it. Our bylaws clearly state what the purpose of the church is. Our mission statement is our purpose.
I want to make one final comment about our mission statement. On the church’s website, on the page entitled “Who We Are, our mission statement, is immediately followed by a reminder that Christ’s mission is our mission. So, it states:
“We proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace. Christ’s mission is our mission.”
I like this, because it reinforces the first part of our mission statement, that we proclaim Jesus Christ. Yes, we are told to build communities of joy, hope, love and peace, but we are then reminded that Christ’s mission is our mission, and that reminds us of the type of communities we are called to establish.
When we listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, we know what our purpose is. We know what our mission is. And we know who Christ is, and what He is calling us to do. We just need to listen to his voice, now, and always:
“Listen to the Voice that speaks from beyond the farthest hills, from the infinite heavens above, and the vast seas below.” -Section 162:1a
“Listen to the Voice that echoes across the eons of time and yet speaks anew in this moment. Listen to the Voice, for it cannot be stilled, and it calls you once again to the great and marvelous work of building the peaceable kingdom, even Zion, on behalf of the One whose name you claim.” Amen.
~Sermon Vault~ 