Epiphany 4 (A) Kingdom Builders Guidelines



Epiphany 4 (A) Kingdom Builders Guidelines
February 1, 1987
By Rev. Ernest F. Campbell





Most of you know that I jog. (Three times a week…at least two miles). Because I jog early in the morning around the Walla Walla High School track, I like to listen to National Public Radio on my Sony Walkman. This past week they interviewed one of the Nations most successful basketball coaches. His record over many years has earned a number of invitations to coach on the college level. When asked what he felt was important to stress to the players about the game of basketball he quickly recited (as though he had repeated them hundreds of times) the following characteristics.


A good team starts with gentleman of character and integrity who are willing to sacrifice and work as a team. 


No matter what the players level of ability these characteristics would enhance the end results dramatically! When asked how some players of questionable character could perform so well, the coach said, “No matter how far they were able to go with the natural talents they missed seeing what they could have accomplished.


In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus Christ teaching His disciples the basic characteristics of those who would carry the good news of God’s love to our families, friends, and neighbors. Like the characteristics of a good athlete the list is short and deceptively simple. 


To effectively communicate the truth and power of God’s love, we have to demonstrate our own personal dependence on God. Christ will bless or empower those disciples who are; teachable, accept comforting, wait on God, regularly partake of God’s words of love and victory through Christ. 


If we as disciples show no apparent need for God…. then no matter how skillfully we tell others about it, we will never see the lives that could have been changed.


It occurred to me that ministers, who over the years have gathered a great deal of experience in the Gospel, may be the least effective in communicating a dependence on God with their lives. Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel that His kingdom will be built by those who are; poor in spirit (teachable), by those who mourn (those who are vulnerable), by those who are meek (trust God), by those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (fed daily on the light of God’s love). Any of us can get good at mouthing the words, but the kingdom of God is built by those who really do depend on Him. Once we have established the base of dependance, we can find the courage to be merciful and the focus to be peacemakers.


We are not merely called to soak in our Godly dependence; we are called to step out in faith and let God’s love work through us. In the words of Micah the Prophet, we are called to do Justice… to work for social fairness, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.


The action of the Gospel is a responsibility that God shares with us and through us. Our faith loses its practicality unless it works in our daily lives.


For example: We have all been hurt at one time or another by something that was said or unsaid… by something that was done or not done which has made us bitter, resentful and perhaps a bit more cynical about life in general.


Can we form our base of dependance on God move out into the world with mercy and peace. Not moving out is the cause of much of the world’s dis-ease. Can we move out with the confidence of our Lord’s words…. 


Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.


Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.


We all can; trust in God, be teachable, accept comfort, wait on God, and spend time in His word. With these characteristics of Christ’s disciples in our lives, we can begin to experience what can be done in us through Him. 


Move out with confidence.


Amen

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