Not an Or

I have to admit that I don’t always get it right.  Rather, I am doing the best that I can myself.  I am trying my best to live into the Way of Jesus.  I am a disciple; just like all of you.  And all of us are on a journey of grace, God’s love, and compassion to all creation.

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After Jesus ascended into heaven, his disciples are left to continue the work he started until he returns.  They teach, baptize, heal and work for justice and peace for those they meet; seriously, read through the book of Acts.  Yet, does that mean that they got it right all the time?  Nope.  They struggle to share what they have in common as a community.  Peter wrestles with, and even at first denies that God would include gentiles into the promises of old through Christ.  And even by the time that Paul is writing his letters to communities of the church throughout the empire, almost all of his letters address their struggles to continue to live into the Way of Jesus.

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So what about us?  In my sermons, I try to communicate and inspire you to live into your lives in Christ.  I, like the Pharisees, hope that you will understand that living your faith is possible.  It is a different way of life that is possible.  However, I need to make sure I also say this: when I present to you a false choice like, ‘worship or following,’ I need you to understand that it is not really a choice.  Living into Christ, living into the Way that Jesus taught, is not a dichotomy; rather, both are held together.

Kind of like Goldilocks, we work to find the just right place and time for each thing.  In the example of ‘worship or following,’ there are times for worship and there are times for following Jesus’ way.  And each of us, as disciples, are doing our best to discern which is the best action for us to be taking at this time.  For some of us, worshipping is a step that leads to following Jesus’ path.  While for others of us, following is the present reality that leads us to a place of worship where we thank and praise for what God has been doing in our lives.

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The discipling life is not an ‘either… or;’ rather it is a ‘both… and’ where to everything there is a season.  So, where do we go from here?  Whatever the next step is for you, if we do it in the name of our Lord Jesus the Christ. Amen.