One of the things that can make a huge difference in our lives are the companions we choose to share life’s journey.
In AA, for instance, a person chooses a companion (in the old days one was chosen for the person) called a sponsor. The sponsor is chosen because she “has what the sponsee wants”—a quality of life such as sobriety, for instance.
The sponsor then shares her experience, strength and hope with the sponsee. Because a sponsor has more time in AA than her sponsee, she can help with the Steps and all the questions a newcomer may have.
So in essence, a sponsor is a companion with whom a newcomer to AA walks on life’s way. In so doing the sponsee is helped to realize she is not so terribly alone, unique and different. It’s not without its challenges, of course—as sponsees are called pigeons because they, uh, well… they do what pigeons do best all over the people around them.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes very clear His willingness to be our companion—our sponsor—along life’s way. He has the quality of life that we long for, and if we allow Him to walk with us, we’ll find that our hearts also will “burn within us.
Usually, the part of this story that is most heavily emphasized is Jesus making Himself known in the breaking of the bread. The point is that wherever we are, whatever we’re going through, when we come to the altar to receive communion, we encounter Jesus as our companion on life’s way. We find strength for our journey as our hearts are nourished within us.
But I want us to notice the last part of the story. Even though the travelers have reached their homes, and it is now evening and probably night, they head right back to where they’ve come from to spread the good news.
Tired though they may be, inconvenient thought it may be, as late as it has become, the two disciples show they also want to be Jesus’ companion by sharing in His work.
They realize that God has people to bless, lives to touch, hearts to transform. Jesus is looking for ordinary people, open-hearted women and men to receive God's gifts of grace, forgiveness, and love — and then pass them on to others.
And so this morning I’d like for Jodie Leach, our Lay Ministry Coordinator, to talk to us about how we can do just that.
As I read the Gospel this morning, I hear it saying that we need to Reflect, Remember, Discern.
That is what Jesus does with the travelers walking with Him. They ask Him, where have you been? Haven’t you heard the news about all that has been happening?
Jesus asks them to stop and reflect—what was written before you in the pages of Scripture? Stop and remember—what did the 12 disciples just experience with the last supper? Stop and discern—what is the meaning of all these actions?
Then the travelers have this Aha! moment. They realize the presence of God in their lives. They’ve been walking the path with Jesus. Where are we on our walk with Christ? Do we take time to stop and listen to God’s whisper? What does God want to reveal to us?
God has a plan for each of our lives. Everyone who has faith in Christ is called according to God’s purpose! God had a plan for you even before you had faith. He made you special.
It is our job to grow in our relationship with the Lord, to walk down the road with him and have that Aha! moment. Are we listening?
The book Now, Discover Your Strengths says:
“Spontaneous reactions, yearning, rapid learning, and satisfaction will all help you detect the traces of your talents. As you rush through your busy life, try to step back, quiet the wind whipping past your ears, and listen for these clues. They will help you zero in on your talents.”
In order to listen we must:
Take time to Reflect
You have special gifts and talents that make you unique.
Are your eyes open? Is your heart burning? Do you see a need, and have passion, a nagging sensation that is just telling you to make something better?
Take time to remember
When you were younger, what did you always imagine yourself accomplishing? When I grow up, I’m going to ________(fill in the blank).
Take time to discern
God wants to reveal Himself to you! God is speaking to you. His plan is revealed through opportunities He puts in our paths.
God isn’t playing keep away or hide and seek with what treasures He has given you. You are special and deep down if you take some time to reflect; you know what you are good at, what you have a passion for doing, things you get fired up about.
Here are the truths I’ve read over and over:
You are uniquely created by God.
God has given you significant gifts.
God has a plan and purpose for your life.
As a Christian, you have been called to serve.
We could post lots of jobs for things that need to be done here at St. Matthew’s. We could run ads in our newsletter, fill lots of slots by roping people in—but we don’t! That is not our way. We don’t have the Army poster of Uncle Sam, “We want you!” We aren’t recruiters who are trying to manipulate people to enter into service.
The church is different. We invite people to join us in ministry, to find their best fit. In ministry, members are encouraging others; they are inviting others to serve alongside them, sharing their enthusiasm for what they are doing. Jesus called it discipile-ing. Jesus took on apprentices.
My hope is to encourage you to find time to reflect this week,
To diligently seek, to ask again and again, What is God’s plan and purpose for my life?
If I lose my keys at home—as I often do—I keep searching. I get angry. I offer rewards to my kids, “I’ll pay $5 to the person who finds my keys.” The kids even gave me a Radio Shack remote finder—that sometimes works, but I keep looking until I’ve retrieved those precious keys that will start the car and take me where I need to go.
Begin this week looking! Spend some time in prayer. When you pray God hears you!
If you want to know what God wants out of you, look at what God gave you. If God gave you the gift of singing, what are you doing with that gift? Are you holding the gift of hospitality or encouragement? What do you do well naturally? What raw material did God give you?
My hope is to encourage you to take some time this week to remember. What did you used to dream of doing? How were you going to fix the wrongs of the world?
What opportunities and experiences have come your way that have made you unique?
Take some time this week to discern.
Faith is believing in God’s word. Presumption is following your own word.
Quiet the need to keep so busy that you can’t tune in.
You’re in control of your journey with the Lord. Are you walking along the path talking the whole way, or can you slow down enough and listen to discern what God wants to reveal to you?
For me, I’m not a very good listener. When my daughter comes up with homework questions and says, “Mom, listen…” then she goes on to read from a worksheet…“OK, so the question is…” By then I’ve zoned out. I say, “Let me see it, if I read it myself I’ll get it…”
And so lately I’ve been spending lots of time reading and journaling; reflecting, remembering, and discerning what God’s call means to me.
I’ve come to realize through reading Scripture and reflecting on it that a big part of my being effective is identifying and using my spiritual gifts. I’m an organizer—I love organizing and getting things done. Each year when VBS comes around, I get so excited! I love the possibilities, the teamwork, and the strategies of pulling it all together.
I love the satisfaction of feeling like we are accomplishing something, and what we are accomplishing is important.
And as I look back on my life—as I remember—I can see other times when this has been the case. For instance, I love organizing camping weekends for Girl Scouts, the bingo events with PTA, the fundraising role of the mission trip.
And these opportunities have helped me discern where God is leading me now as I look forward to taking on a new role. I’d like to serve as the Lay Ministry Coordinator. I’d like to walk with you in the ways God is leading.
Two final thoughts and we’re through. First, (and this comes from a conversation with General Lew Allen, Jr) when we expect to meet Jesus as our companion on life’s way in communion, we do so through active participation. In other words, people take communion themselves; they eat the bread and the wine. They don’t expect the priest to do it for them, to go along the rail several hundred different times and give himself bread and wine saying, “The body of Christ, the bread of heaven; the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation.”
But very often, that is precisely what we do with service, with ministry. We expect the priest or other professionals to do our ministry for us. Friends, that would make no more sense than expecting me to take communion for you!
If you want experience Jesus as a companion on the path of your life, you will have to join him by engaging in Christian service yourself. There simply is no way around that. It is not something I can do for you any more than I can take communion for you. That is why all of us are ministers and why every believer is a priest.
And second, going back to the AA sponsor, people in AA know that the real benefit of being a sponsor is that the sponsor gets way more out of it than the sponsee—or so it seems. Having a sponsee gives the sponsor someone to help— “keeps it green,” so to speak. The sponsor (a good one)—and this is HUGE—always knows that to keep his sobriety he must give it away and help others as he himself was helped.
It’s PASS IT ON at its finest, and frankly, friends, in so many ways AA has become what the church was meant to be. For us to really keep our faith alive and vibrant, for us to continue to have our hearts burn within us as we walk with Jesus on life’s way, we simply must give our faith away, both in word and deed, in witness and service.
Amen.