"Renewing Our Vision"

A sermon preached on World Communion Sunday/Heritage Sunday - The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Octber 7 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on II Timothy 1:1-11.

I heard the story this past week of a little league coach who was reminiscing about his childhood years playing baseball. He remembered back to his first year on a baseball team. His coach had called together the entire team for a picnic, and he asked the team; "Who here wants to eventually play major league baseball?" "Without hesitation," he said, "every single hand went up." That boy grew up to become a little league coach himself and the week before their first game, he did the very same thing his little league coach had done. He had a team picnic, and asked the team; "Who here wants to grow up and play in the major leagues?" To his astonishment, not a single hand went up on the team of twelve kids. He said he could see in their eyes that none of them believed they had what it took to become a major league baseball player. What a contrast between people who have vision and people who lack vision.

Vision is that elusive thing that dares to dream big dreams about the future. Vision has been called hope with a blueprint. Vision is what an inventor has when he or she thinks outside the box to create something new. Vision is what a parent has as they look at their newborn baby and imagine all that child could grow up to become. Vision has a way of ignoring its critics and chasing its dream regardless of how many people say it can’t be done.

Consider these famous predictions that underestimated the incredible power of vision. Ken Olson, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation said in 1977; "There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home." Consider this Western Union memo from 1876; "The Telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of true communication." Or what about the words of Decca a recording company who turned down the opportunity to sign the Beatles in 1962, by saying; "We don’t like their sound. Besides that style of music is on the way out." And Charles Duell, commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents said in 1899; "Everything that can be invented has already been invented."

Vision has a way of ignoring those who say it can’t be done, by doing it anyway. Vision is essential and certainly it is no different when it comes to our Christian life and faith. When it comes to the Church, we need vision - we need visionaries! Yet we go through times when our vision fades or begins to dim. There are times when our passion and charisma begins to dissipate. We become like the Christians of Laodicea, we are neither hot - in that we being no healing; nor are we cold - in that we bring no refreshment - we become just lukewarm. And, certainly, that’s what was happening to young Timothy, the Apostle Paul’s young protégé.

Keep in mind, Paul had sent Timothy to try to salvage a mess in the church in Ephesus. Yet when Timothy got there, he found himself in way over his head. The entire leadership team in the Ephesian church was older than he was, and didn’t respect his leadership. To make matters worse, Timothy was shy and timid, so he had a tendency to avoid confrontation. The stress of his ministry assignment was effecting his health, as he found himself sick with constant stomach ailments. In the meantime, his beloved mentor, Paul had been arrested and imprisoned by the Roman government. In fact, Paul wrote this letter shortly before his death while he was imprisoned in Rome. Timothy’s vision had dissipated. The excitement and enthusiasm he had once felt was dying. And certainly, I think we all felt that way at some point in time. Timothy, like all of us, needed his vision renewed. That was a major reason behind the writing of this second epistle or letter to Timothy - to encourage him in his faith.
As I think back over the course of my ministry, there have been times when I have been discouraged, when I have felt as though I was laboring in vain and, just then, I would receive a letter from a parishioner or friend whose words encouraged and strengthened my resolve to continue in my ministry. I can imagine the encouragement and strengthening these words gave to Timothy.
I find it interesting that the Epistle Reading for this Sunday in the Church Year is this one. I don’t think we could have found any better words to read on this Heritage Sunday. These words touch on five vital areas of church life. And, it is only fitting that on this Heritage Sunday we should seek to renew these areas.

First of all, we see in verses 1 through 3, that the Apostle Paul focuses on the importance of renewing our vision for worship. We find an emphasis on worship in the word "serve" in verse 3. Now, keep in mind, this is not the usual Greek word that is used in the New Testament for "serve," instead, it is the word latreuo. This word is used some 20 other times in the New Testament, and it always refers to service offered to God as an act of worship. This kind of service is never directed toward others, but it’s always directed toward God. In fact, this Greek word latreuo is where we get our English word "liturgy" from, which refers to the order or structure of a Christian worship service. That’s why we call our corporate worship a "worship service" because of this word.

"The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) affirms that worship contains two primary elements: the Word and the Sacraments, or God speaking and humans responding. However, some modern Disciples offer a more detailed or complete description of the Disciples’ style of worship, which includes: (1) the adoration of God through song, (2) a reverent expression of thanksgiving through prayer and offering, (3) proclaiming God through scripture and sermon, (4) receiving renewal through the sacraments, and (5) participation through fellowship with the whole people of God. We as Disciples are communities of worship. We believe that worship touches the core of our very being where all issues are joined together. We believe that worship is a search for deeper meaning of who God is and who we are. We believe that worship sets our purpose in perspective. We believe that worship expands our souls." And certainly, we here at Edgemont know and understand the importance of worship. I think we realize that worship can and does involve all of the senses. Worship can be creative, inclusive and expressive. And so, may we realize the importance of renewing our worship as a church and as individuals. May our lives be filled with service offered up to God as an act of worship.
Secondly, in verses 4 and 5, we see that Paul focuses on the importance of renewing our vision for prayer. Look at what Paul says in verse 3, he reported how he prayed day and night for Timothy. And then, in verses 4 and 5 we find the content of Paul’s prayer, that as he prayed he remembered Timothy’s tears and his longing to be reunited with his apprentice. As he prayed for Timothy he was reminded of how Timothy came to faith in Christ. It all started with Timothy’s grandmother Lois, and then his mother Eunice. Timothy was a third generation Christian. For Paul, renewing his vision for prayer simply came from pouring out his heart to God. Someone once said; "to pray is the ‘pursue God’s heart.’" That’s really the heart of prayer, daily intimacy with God where we share our heart with God and God shares God's heart with us. Prayer isn’t just an act - it is a way of life. It is abiding, communing, being connected to the very real presence of the holy - God. "To pray without ceasing" is to realize the presence of the holy in all of life - to sense and know that God is present. Imagine the transformation that would occur in our lives if we truly lived with the realization of God’s presence always with us. If we truly renew our vision for prayer.
But notice too, that the act of prayer itself - that is to say, praying, involves compassion. In fact, Paul says; "I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy." "Compassion" literally means "to suffer with." It means to "suffer alongside of," denoting the idea of entering fully into the situation of another - sharing whatever comes; their joys, their pains, their sorrows and their struggles. In a sense, prayer should spark service. What good is praying; "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," if we’re not willing to do those things? What good is praying for another person if we’re not willing to offer ourselves to that person? What good is praying for peace and justice if we’re not willing to engage in works to bring about these things? And so, this leads us to our third point.

Thirdly, Paul encourages us in verses 6 and 7 to renew our vision for service. We do this by being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. The past couple of weeks, the Lectionary Readings have focused a great deal on being faithful stewards. Paul reminds Timothy that God had given him all the equipment he needs to be effective as God’s steward. But the fire of God’s gift in Timothy’s life was going out. It had become like a fire in the fireplace when no new wood has been added for a while. Paul encourages Timothy to "fan the flame" of his gift, so it would once again burn with intensity and brightness. The way we fan the flame of our spiritual gifts is by using them. The flame loses its blaze through lack of use, and gradually our gifts become glowing embers. We fuel the fire when we use our gifts. When we, as Paul reminds us fourthly in verse 8, renew our outreach.

I am proud of the outreach projects that we have taken on here at Edgemont. In fact, in the back of the church you will see a table that displays some of the outreach ministries that we have undertaken here at Edgemont. But we are reminded of the importance of renewing our vision of outreach. We are to do this individually and collectively. We are to reach out with God’s love and grace, compassion and mercy, justice and reconciliation. We are to share these gifts with others. A church member once asked her pastor; "I have some friends and neighbors that I would love to share my faith with, what literature can I offer them?" The pastor looked at the woman sincerely and answered; "How about the gospel according to you. Let them read your life." An elderly man was offering a prayer in church day, in which he prayed; "O Lord, touch our world with thy finger." To which someone in the back said; "And God, help us to remember that we are your fingers and that we are to do the touching."

And finally, Paul tells us in the second half of verse 8 through 10 that we need to renew our vision for nurture. Are we a nurturing church? With the gospel also comes a call to live a holy life, that is to say, a life has been set apart, a life of spiritual depth and growth. That is what is meant by nurture, being nurtured in the life God calls us to. Although we do not contribute anything to our salvation, God does calls us to a life of transformation - a life where we grow and mature. God calls us to put down deep spiritual roots that are nourished by the truth of God. God calls us to nurture a holy life - we do this by embodying the holy - embodying God’s presence.

On this Heritage Sunday, let us seek to be a church with a renewed vision for worship, prayer, service, outreach, and nurture. In order for a vision to become a reality it must be lived out. Our vision for worship is renewed by actually worshiping; our vision for prayer is renewed by actually praying; our vision for service is renewed by actually using our gifts to serve; our vision for outreach is renewed by actually reaching out to others with God’s love and grace; and our vision for nurture is renewed by actually responding to God’s call to a holy life - a life that is set apart.
These visions can only be renewed by making God our vision. That’s what is meant in the beautiful hymn, "Be Thou My Vision." To make God our vision means to deposit in God and God’s kingdom our very lives. That’s what Paul meant when he prayed in verse 12; "That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that God is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." The Greek word for "entrusted" there is paratheke, it was a business word that meant "deposit." It described the transaction when a person surrendered his or her money to a bank in the faith that the bank would keep it safe and return it with gain. That’s how our vision becomes real, but depositing our lives into God our vision.