Living Among God’s Faithful People (Lisa Kramme)
February 24, 2021
Philippians 1:3-11 & John 20:19-23
I was born on January 27, 1965 and baptized on February 21st that year. The story my parents tell me about my baptism was that I cried the whole time, and my great aunt Mattie said, “That’s alright. It means she’ll be a singer.” And because we swapped notes at some point in our confirmation classes, I also know that Doug Papik (pronounced “Pop-ick”) was baptized on the same day at the same church. So, besides the gift that baptism is in my life, to be named and claimed as a child of God, I also know from these stories that I received the gift of grace—when Aunt Mattie had no problem at all with me as a disruptive and crying baby, and the gift of community—Doug was named and claimed as a child of God that very day with me.
On March 30, 1980, I was 15 years old when I was confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cordova, Nebraska. We also call that the “affirmation of baptism” because, as our worship book shares, we affirm or “continue in the covenant that God made with us in holy baptism.” I don’t remember much about my confirmation, but I do have a snapshot of me with fluffy hair in a white dress, standing next to a cake that was made for the occasion. I remember Doug Papik and my other confirmation classmates, all of us kneeling at the communion rail as our pastor went from teenager to teenager, laying hands on our head and praying for God to stir up in each of us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Together we affirmed these promises:
To live among God’s faithful people;
To hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper;
To proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed;
To serve all people, following the example of Jesus;
And to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
WOW! That’s quite a list of promises for a group of 15-year-olds to make! My cousin told me after the worship service that she almost bought a t-shirt for me as a confirmation gift. It said, “Be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” But she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, so she didn’t buy it after all. Looking back, I think it would have been a fabulous and fitting gift.
In fact, I’d probably still have that t-shirt around today, knowing that its message is most certainly true.
What does this mean:
To live among God’s faithful people?
To hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper?
To proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed?
To serve all people, following the example of Jesus?
And to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
During this season of Lent, on five Wednesdays leading up to Holy Week and Easter, we’ll be exploring each of these promises with four other messages from baptized children of God of all ages and backgrounds. These will include Micah Spruth-Janssen, Ministry Assistant at Family of Christ Lutheran Church in Kearney, Nebraska, and a student at the University of Nebraska- Kearney; the Rev. Don Marshall of Oaks Indian Mission, one of the Nebraska Synod’s Serving Arms; Divine Cubwa, a member of the ELCA Church Council and student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Deacon Karen Melang, who has served in a wide variety of leadership roles in the church and her community.
It’s critical to our life-long development as followers of Jesus that we not only hear from but also live among God’s faithful people, and this means so much more than sitting next to someone in a pew on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. After all, we didn’t promise to “sit by” God’s faithful people, but to “live among” them.
What does living among God’s faithful people look like for you right now? And how are you feeling called to remind your neighbors of God’s love in your life among them?
I recently took part in the ELCA Youth Ministry Network’s annual Extravaganza, during which several presenters talked about the importance of holding space for another and listening well to that person. This current season of life is a time of so much loss and grief for so many, and listening to our neighbor is an important action to take as one is living among God’s faithful people. One workshop presenter at the Extravaganza put it this way: When you’re listening to someone and they’re telling you about their struggles, and then you get the urge to say something in response—like a solution to their problems or a quote that always helps you through challenging times—take a drink. Take a drink of your water or coffee or something else. But don’t talk. Take a drink and just keep on listening.
The Fuller Institute conducted research of congregations across the United States from a variety of denominations. They studied churches who were engaging youth and young adults well in small, medium and large congregations, as well as those in rural, urban and suburban settings. In their book Growing Young, the researchers point out that one key component of all of those congregations that were engaging youth and young adults well was that they fueled a warm community. When the researchers asked young people what kept them involved in their church, most of the people who responded said it was relationships. The authors go on to point out that deep relationships can lead to a deepening exploration of what they believe.
What would fueling a warm community of all ages of God’s faithful people look like in your setting? And how could this look right now, with some people able to gather safely in-person and others who may need to remain physically separated due to health concerns? I’d like to invite you right now to imagine what fueling a warm community might look like, sound like and feel like to you. (Pause to let people start to imagine.) Let’s take this imagining a bit further. What could be the first step you might take to make that warm community happen? (Pause again.) I think you’re up to this next challenge—and that is to actually take that first step toward fueling a warm community as you live among God’s faithful people. When you do, I would love to hear the stories of how you see God working through and among that community.
In one of the readings for this week’s message, Paul wrote to the Philippians: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” And I am confident that the t-shirt my cousin wanted to buy me as a confirmation gift is true for all of us: God isn’t finished with us yet.
The good news is that God didn’t leave us to fend for ourselves, even as a faithful community. In the 20th chapter of the book of John, the story is told of the very first Easter, when the disciples were gathered together, feeling very afraid of what might happen. In the middle of that gathered community of God’s faithful yet fearful people, Jesus came to be among them, blessing them with his peace, and sending them to serve and love like he loved.
Serving and loving people is what we’re called to do as we live among God’s faithful people. May we, like those first disciples, be sent, remembering the grace and community in and through which we have been claimed.
Lisa Kramme
Nebraska Synod staff
