Sermon: “I Belong To Jesus” When Father Cesareo returned home he wrote the words and composed the music for this new hymn we have just sung. The text was in Spanish, of course – later translated into English in 1998 – just in time to be published in our current hymnal, in 1990. In the rhythm of the music you can almost feel the movement of the water - and the small waves coming up on the shore. The words of the hymn – which indirectly reach back to this experience of Jesus calling the first disciples – the words are in the present tense. They are contemporary words, today words. Just as Jesus came long ago to that lakeshore, to call the first disciples, so Jesus comes to us – to the lakeshore of our lives – not looking for the wise or the wealthy – but only wanting that “I” should follow. Then we sing that wonderful rising refrain – “O Lord – Senor – with your eyes your have searched me, and while smiling, have called out my name…” It’s a very individual kind of hymn, lots of I’s and me’s. A larger percent of the hymns in our hymnal are in the plural: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” - “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” - “O Come All Ye Faithful.” They appropriately remind us we are part of a community, a worldwide fellowship, joined with others, part of a living tradition of the church. But some hymns, like this one, speak directly to us as individuals – to me, to you. They should not to be viewed as individualistic or selfish – “me and not you” or “me over against you” - that’s not it. Rather these hymns remind us that faith is also a matter of individual choice and personal commitment. It was for those first disciples, for Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John – and at some point in our lives it is the same for us. You and I must make that individual choice and personal commitment. We must as individuals say with a measure of personal integrity, “I will follow Jesus.” “I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ.” “I belong to God.” “I belong to Jesus.” For our youth this is what confirmation is all about. Two weeks back in our service of Reaffirmation of Baptism, we renewed this decision to follow Jesus, to belong to God. Today as we ordain and install new church officers and leaders – you are taking on expanded obligations of this same essential commitment. And in the changing circumstances of life, from the delightful to the most difficult – in the decisions we make, in the way we act and react, and in the choices we make – you and I are called upon to live our lives by embracing – or, by rejecting - this foundational commitment: “I belong to Jesus.” As the foundational commitment is made by one of us, and then a second and a third – and then by over time by many others, we become tied to a community of faith – we affirm that “we” belong to Jesus – and we share this common faith. We live in different neighborhoods; we have different educations; we like different sports’ teams; we have differing political opinions and worldviews and theological views; we differ on social issues – and we have different ideas about how to handle various church matters. Yet we still maintain this essential unity in Jesus Christ. This is what Paul is trying to tell the Corinthians. This church, like many churches, was experiencing dissentions and divisions – the Greek word he uses is schismata - the root of our word schism. They were dividing along cults of personalities: I belong to Paul, I belong to Apollos, I belong to Cephas – and even I belong to Christ.” Each group was claiming exclusivity over the other – that “they” had the truth – and the others did not. That they were right on a particular matter, and the others were wrong. That they were the “true believers” – and the others were “not real Christians.” And as you read the rest of this long letter Paul addresses the many schisms in this church – and in every instance he calls them back to this essential unity, again to this foundational commitment in Jesus Christ. We do well to notice that Paul does not call them to tolerance necessarily. Nor does he insist that they should all agree on everything. When is something like that ever possible? Like today, when three Presbyterians gather for a discussion, there will likely be four different opinions. Bring up any social issue – and in this political year, bring up any number of hot button political ideas – and there we be all kinds of debate and differing views. The important thing for our church – the Church’s One Foundation – the essential thing is this common commitment to Jesus Christ – that all say and believe and seek to live out of this common faith: I – and we – belong to Jesus. In life and in death, we belong to God. Here and only here is where our essential unity lies. Perhaps many of you, are like me in this regard; I really cannot recall a time in my life when I did not belong to Jesus. Raised in the church, brought to Sunday School and worship – brought to “church” as we still say – I have to say that I did not really find this faith. Rather this faith found me. For some of you who now belong to Jesus – you were not raised in this faith from childhood. But rather you chose it as a young person or an adult. Something about it was attractive – and here you are. And yet for me and I hope for us all, there was or there will yet come a time in your life when you made this actual decision for yourself – not because of your parents or your family, your spouse or your friends or your neighbors – but for your own self, you come to say, “I make this choice – I belong to Jesus.” When I made that choice – which I did as a young person - I certainly did not fully understand what it meant. And a complete understanding is still beyond me. The truth is we can only discover the deep meaning of what belonging to Jesus means by actually following Jesus daily – through the practices of our faith – through worship, prayer, offering hospitality, discernment and reflection – and by engaging in mission and ministry to others. Only by practicing the faith do we discover what it means to belong to Jesus. I am coming around to realize that this claim is a minority claim. The reality is today – in our country – and much more so in Europe, the majority of the people in our neighborhoods do not actively participate in any church – or synagogue or mosque. This was not true several generations back – but it is today. There are a whole lot of folks who do not really practice any faith. They may say they belong to God – most people will say that - but the actual practice of the faith is not so high on their priority list. So belonging to Jesus may put me in the minority. But that’s OK with me. Because for me - and I hope for you – I have discovered enough of what it does mean to belong to Jesus to know that I want to stay. I have discovered that by belonging to Jesus that Jesus is a source of goodness, love and forgiveness that is unequal to any other source. When we say our prayers before supper at home, my prayer comes around to the same ending – that God would use this food to nourish us, so that we can be about God’s good work in the world. By belonging to Jesus I have found a cause – a mission – to help bring about goodness in the world, and I want to be about that. By belonging to Jesus I know a love that is powerful and boundless. Some of our Sunday School classes have been discussing the Catechism – a question and answer teaching device – and one of the newer catechisms approved for use in the church by our General Assembly is called “Belonging to God – a First Catechism.” It is geared to elementary school children – and it benefits those of any age. Listen to these first questions and answers: Question 1. Who are you? I am a child of God. Question 2. What does it mean to be a child of God? That I belong to God, who loves me. Question 3. What makes you a child of God? Grace — God's free gift of love that I do not deserve and cannot earn. Question 4. Don't you have to be good for God to love you? No. God loves me in spite of all I do wrong. Question 5. How do you thank God for this gift of love? I promise to love and trust God with all my heart. Simple – yet most profound – this is part of what it means to belong to Jesus. Today I would urge us to continue to belong – to not be afraid or embarrassed to say it right out loud: I belong to Jesus. And if you find yourself wavering some in this faith – I would invite you to reconsider what it means for you to belong to Jesus, and to renew your practice of this faith. For as we continue to belong to Jesus, we will know this goodness and love, which never lets us go. May it be so for you and for me. And all God’s people said. Amen.
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