Rekindle the Gift - 2 Timothy 1:1-14 (Pentecost 17C)

 

Have you ever seen evangelism done poorly? Like… you witnessed maybe a street preacher on the corner with a bullhorn, or … less and less now, but the people with the sandwich board signs with the big letters “THE END IS NIGH”? Well - evangelism may not be one of my gifts but I do have a story for you of it going horribly bad. There 

So I was in my later teens (you know, back in the late 1900s), and I had been talking to a friend online for a while and I wanted to share my faith. My friend didn’t have much of a background, and having grown up in a different area, it wasn’t really culturally relevant either. She knew I came from a Christian influence, but I hadn’t been really forthcoming about it. I knew it was something that I should do, because - you know, it’s exciting and I want more people to know about Jesus and the faith that helps sustain me.  Let me tell you: it did not go well. I don’t remember the specifics of it, but all I remember is that I thought it was going to be easy, and IT WASN’T. I felt like I had run right into a brick wall. Not only was she not interested, she asked me enough questions that I didn’t have answers to, and it started to ruin my own faith.

This is why preparation is key. Also - when people are actively antagonizing your faith, it’s probably best to realize when you’re losing and walk away. But NO - I was young and naive, looking back at it, this person was important to me. Somehow the relationship with her ended up being more important than my relationship with God, because I found myself questioning more than I had ever done, big questions - like why do bad things happen to good people, and why does evil exist, and is God even listening when it sure doesn't feel like it? And my faith shriveled up because I ended up following the wrong person. I put my faith in people, when what I really needed was more Jesus. 

Before we get into our specific reading today, let's talk about this new book we're starting, Second Timothy. It is written by Paul to Timothy, who was an elder at the church in Ephesus. It's believed to be written about 66 A.D. while Paul is in prison (AGAIN), close to when he was executed. The overarching theme of the book seems to be that he knew his end was in sight, and so he needed to encourage the next generation of leadership to action and to know how to deal with corrupt teachers. 

Knowing that, we can see that there really is a relatively deep relationship between Paul and Timothy, even from the first couple of verses. The evidence of this is that he mentions Timothy's mom and grandma and how they must have raised him in the faith. This means that he is a third generation Christian, which at that time was rare, indeed. It also means that he may have had a pretty strong connection to Christ through these women. Paul really seems to understand that the way to a good faith life is through family - if not, a community. 

It's good to rekindle those memories and relationships, don't you think? Not that it's over, but I hope we are coming out of this season of COVID quarantine mostly behind us, but it's still kind of scary, you know? Some of us are having those meetings with family and friends that has not been able to have in three and a half years. What rejoicing when we can see each other once again and spread our love to those we've missed over this long season. 

The line that really spoke to me was verse six & seven (in the Contemporary English Version): "So I ask you to make full use of the gift God gave you when I placed my hands on you. Use it well. God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control."

These lines spoke to me because I know I need to make use of all the gifts God has given when I was called into ministry. But more so, it is just a call to action in that you don't need to be in a pulpit to feel that call. I hope each and every one of you knows that God has given you gifts that maybe need to be rekindled because we may be acting cowardly in our faith. 

But what does that mean - to rekindle our gifts or even relationships? It means we need to search inside of us to find what maybe we've held deep because of shame or embarrassment. Something that can be used to further bringing the kin-dom of heaven just a little bit closer to our place. So, we maybe need to do some self-discovery, or maybe we need to examine our relationships to see where our relationships have become broken in some places. Does God need to shine a light on relationships that need some mending? Then - be bold! And consider life a gift that needs to be shared. The Spirit gives us power! To use with love and self-control. 

Underlying all of this boldness is that Christ already has the victory, so what are we fearing? Over the last week or so, at bedtime, I've asked Ali what kind of fears she has. Then we've prayed about them to let her know it's ok that she has the fear, but with the power of God can get through it. There are many scary things in this world, but one of them should not be the Gospel. Which brings me back to where I started this morning. 

Our denomination has been going through a splintering for several years now, and I know Pastor Larry had some discussions with you about it. I don't think he may have been so bold as to offer his opinion or not, I wasn't there. But with movement happening around it, I feel like I need to share a few more words about it. The movement is that a handful of churches have taken steps and even votes to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. Taylor Chapel and  Lifehouse in Huntertown within the last two weeks have voted to leave. Leo UMC voted to leave and that vote failed by three ballots. Good Shepherd is planning to vote early next month, before the charge conference.

Why are they voting to leave? On the surface, there is a disagreement at the general conference level on whether to allow LGBTQ+ clergy and to allow those persons to marry in the church. Under the surface, it's coming down to how the rules are being written and what's  enforced. To my knowledge, this is an issue that has been affecting the larger denomination for decades. I can understand both sides of this debate. To me - what it comes down to is whether people are willing to listen to each other and look for grace, or they are not and that it is more important for the rules and than the relationships. Don't get me wrong, I feel that this is another proxy culture war that has been simmering for decades and is just now coming to a head. Those who are leaving have been organizing and planning for that time and now they are not willing to discuss it anymore and they're leaving. 

What does that have to do with us? Those churches who have had votes, the votes were not unanimous. One thing voting does is what side people are on, and so there are always going to be winners and losers. Those churches leaving have people who were on the wrong side of the ballot box, and have a choice. Do they stay with the church, or do they move to somewhere they feel more with like-minded people? These votes are breaking relationships, breaking churches apart, and leaving people feeling left behind. But what we need to realize is that they are still valued, still people of faith. I want us to be a landing pad for anyone who values discussion and respect over demanding allegiance. 

And here's where we can be bold. This afternoon, there will be a service of grief, lament, and healing at Covenant UMC. All those from across the district who want to stay within the United Methodist Church can come and join together with others who are staying and have moments of compassion for what they've lost and maybe find a new way to discern moving forward. It will be run by District Superintendent Russ Abel, and I am planning to be there. If any of you want to join me, it will be at 4pm today. 

 That said, what does this have to do with rekindling our gifts? Now is the time for us, maybe not to evangelize, but to live into our faith and connect with those who are feeling abandoned in theirs. But we will not be cowards because God gives us strength and love and self-control. We are better together than we are apart. Our vision has to be that we profess our bold faith to the world, reflecting with love and knowing our gifts and being able to use them to the best of our abilities for the rest of our days. These are hard days in our church, and in our world. The biggest hearts are those who sometimes have grown hard to the world around. We are here because Jesus has come to our heart and with the fire of His love, melted it, so that we can go out and transform others. 

Like Tadj talked about in her children’s chat - we have lots of traditions that we want to keep passing down, even as basic as our faith in Jesus. 

In closing, our gifts were given by God not for us to sit on them or to be embarrassed, but to be empowered and bold. Let us go out as the people of God who use our powers of love, faith, and hope to inspire everyone around us to emulate. 

Amen.