What It’s All About

Polk City UMC

June 29, 2003

Mark Haverland

 

Mark 5:21-43 5:21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 5:22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 5:23 and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." 5:24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 5:25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 5:26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 5:27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 5:28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 5:29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 5:30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 5:31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 5:32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 5:33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 5:34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." 5:35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" 5:36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 5:37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 5:38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 5:39 When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." 5:40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 5:41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"  5:42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.  5:43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

 

 

Wouldn’t it be something if the hokey pokey really is what it’s all about?  What a sobering thought.  I actually don’t think so, but who really knows, for sure?  Well, I’m about to give my own answer to life’s persistent question: “What’s it all about?”  The sub-title for my sermon this morning might just be, “Everything I've always wanted to say but couldn't until my last Sunday.”

 

And, although this might be a license to let loose, I have said pretty much what’s on my mind over the past six years, much to the chagrin of some of you, I suppose, so there’s very little left to say that hasn’t already been said.  And I will resist the temptation to say it all over again.

 

But I do have some parting advice for you and for the Schotts.  First of all, today is not about me and saying goodbye.  We Methodists are always looking forward.  I hope you will think of me some when you see the new education wing, look over the paved parking lot and admire all the space to the east for future expansion.  When the computer fails some Sunday morning, I’m sure I will flash across your minds as the one who got you into all this new fangled technology.  For the most part, however, I expect to be soon forgotten.  You will be so busy with what is coming, that you will have little time for what has been.  And, of course, I did very little of this myself.  You did it yourselves.  I pushed a little here and there, but my legacy is really your accomplishment.

 

I truly believe that I have had the best job in the conference.  Your love for the church has made the impossible possible.  So, this morning is not about me.  It’s about you.  I know that you are already thinking of Lee and Dan as your pastors and looking forward to my riding off into the sunset so they can dig in.  This is as it should be.  We are Methodists, always pressing on to perfection, as John Wesley put it, never satisfied with the present.  We are not naturally a nostalgic people.  It’s always the future that concerns us.  We know that God has many great things in store for us.  As the Psalmist said, God is about to do a new thing which is just now about to break forth from the bud.  God is about to unleash many new truths for you.  Lee asked me the other day if I thought you would mind if she made some changes in the worship service.  I told her you were looking forward to some changes and expected lots of new thrills.  So, buckle your seat belts, you may well be in for a real ride.  Now, like all circuit riding pastors, I leave the church in your good hands as I go on to the next calling. 

 

As I do so, I leave Dan and Lee in your care.  You need to know that the success of their ministry does not depend on them.  It depends on you.  They are very bright, talented and committed people.  But they will prosper here only to the extent that you let them, help them and empower them.  It is your job, should you chose to accept it, to mold them into the ministers which God needs for his church, here in Polk City for the next few years and throughout Iowa for the next 25 years.  It is the job of small churches such as Polk City to train new pastors.  Whether or not Lee and Dan become great pastors depends on how you treat them in this their first church.

 

To Lee and Dan, I would lift up the gospel reading this morning as the model for ministry.  Always remember that when you get interrupted, that's when the ministry starts.  Jesus is off to the other side of the lake to get away, but a great crowd gathers around and interrupts his plans.  Jairus needs help for his dying daughter.  So many people will always want a piece of you.  So off Jesus strides only to be interrupted again by the woman who dared and hoped so much.  So much of ministry is unplanned, unexpected and unnoticed.  Your job is to be interrupted.  It is the primary difference between ministry and most other jobs.  Most jobs depend on careful and strategic planning and diligent attention to the details of the plan, hoping that very little happens which is not expected.  But ministry is about staying busy until the next interruption.

 

One final word to my good friends here at PCUMC: thank you.  You have given me a great gift.  You have taught me to love the church.  I’ve been around the church all my life.  I’ve gone to church since I was a very small child.  I’ve been in the pew and I’ve been in the pulpit.  I like both, by the way, and miss the one when I am in the other.  But I learned finally here at Polk City UMC to truly love the church.  You have led me by your example to believe in the power of the church to change lives and to change the world.  I’m not sure I know how you taught me this.  My tenure here has not been without disappointments and frustrations.  I have failed numerous times to respond to your needs.  And you have occasionally wondered somewhat astray, as well.  We’re not a big, successful church with huge budgets and extensive programs.  We don’t draw big crowds.  We struggle to gin up a choir every few weeks.  Many of our members have drifted away, some have even stomped out in anger and disgust.  But through all of the ups and downs of my ministry here, I have sensed a quiet strength to your faith and your commitment to the church.  I look out on the congregation now and think back six years: many new faces, many missing faces, and many stories.  All in all, I am in awe of your faithfulness.  I leave here a better Christian and a better church person because of your commitment to the gospel and your support of my ministry.  For this your will always be in my heart.

 

What’s it all about?  Well, the hokey pokey is definitely not what it’s all about.  It’s actually all about the church.  It’s about the power of the church to bring God’s love to the world.  It’s about training new ministers to lead the church into the 21^st century.  It’s all about bringing the gospel to those who hunger and thirst for the word of God.  It’s all about loving our neighbors as we love ourselves and loving God with all our heart, mind and strength.  That’s what it’s all about.