I am hopeful, and I must admit that my attitude of hopefulness is stressed by conditions that eat at that hope. During the last presidential campaign our president built his platform on the concept of hope, of restoring hope, and using hope as the foundation for change in the political arena. That hope generated a wave that not only resulted in his election as president but swept across our country generating hope in every little hamlet. One year has passed since the election and CNN did a series of surveys that asked the question does the hope that was generated in the last election still exist. The survey revealed that the larger percentage of those surveyed still believed that change was coming and held on to the hope that was inspired by the election but a significant number of those surveyed hope had dwindled and believed that their lives was no better now than it was prior to the election. The approval rating for the president dropped significantly in the light of the continuing war in the middle east, sustained unemployment, continued mistrust of wall street, and the battle in congress over the medical reform act. Take in consideration the tragedies that took place at Fort Hood and in Orlando. In both cases the tragedies are a reflection, at least to some degree, over failed hope and tragic judgment. If you analyze your families predicament now compared to a year ago on which side of the line would you fall, still optimistic or has some pessimism creped in to your corner of the world. I guess some clarification should be made to my earlier statement about my hopefulness, while I am less hopeful on an imminent withdrawal of troops, less hopeful about a change in ethics of wall street moguls, I am yet hopeful and trust that our president and our congress is making every effort to better this America of ours. Yet none of that is the source of my hope, for my hope is built on the promises of God. I believe and I trust and I am hopeful that God can and that God will make a way. If this is the source of hope, not just for me, but for all then the question of how is this hope made manifest. How can this hope permeate our culture and how is this hope to be nurtured and fostered in the lives of all who come to the well to drink. It is the church, the church must be the proclaimer of that hope, must be the agent of that hope and must be the facilitator of that hope. This is an excerpt from the letter sent to our conference speaker for this week. “We believe that the neo-church is equipped with spiritual power and presence coupled with a diverse community of believers to embrace and take on the unique challenges that persist in an ever changing culture.” What a grandiose statement, but one that I believe is an accurate depiction of our beliefs. We are challenging our selves to be more of a dynamic church, and we have defined dynamic as being able to respond to the dynamic shifts that occurs in our community. We are not apprehensive but we are cautious not to allow being dynamic take away from our charter, which is the worship of God, the exaltation of Christ and the exhortation of believers. So the church while honoring its charter must be dynamic enough to embrace the demands in its present day context. How do we do that, how do we be dynamic and yet at the same time not lose our identity as a church? I want to suggest by the aide of the Holy Spirit that our text this morning gives us some insight on the challenge of responding in a dynamic way to a dynamic mean. Go to the text with me and see if you can identify with me the challenges and the response.
1. It must be relevant: 12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town When we say that the matter is relevant we are suggesting that the situation is pertinent or crucial. The reason or the need for the church to be dynamic is because the issues that the community faces are relevant. We have come to fellowship, to worship and to praise God but a deeper investigation into our lives would reveal that there are issues behind the mask. In our text the widow’s issues are not masked but obvious to all who knows her situation. Her husband is dead and now her only son has died, she is left without a covering, without a financial backer, without a companion. Her tragedies are building up and are multiplied. The needs of this woman are so significant that even with the large crowd at the funeral procession none could relieve her pain. Her needs are beyond human hands and so much needed divine intervention. There is a unique set of dynamics that demands a dynamic response. Maybe her desperation is inconceivable for many of us that have gathered this morning but the reality is there are many that are here that can identify at least on some level of the crisis at hand. Maybe for you it is an impending surgery, a financial matter, a relationship issue but you to too stand in the need of dynamic intervention from the hand of God. So you have come, you have made your way to this Holy Mount with the hope that somehow, someway that something is said, that something happens, that shifts the dynamics and a response from the divine will lead to change for your life. Your faith brought you to the house of worship and this is what I can promise you, that you are at the right place, at the right time to receive a blessing. But what of a community that is losing hope with the weight of relevant matters? We must meet them at the gate, meet them at the funeral procession. Take any relevant matter and ask what should be the response of the church.
2. It must be relative: 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep." When we use the term relative to describe a dynamic condition we are defining it as something having relation to something else. In other words a dynamic response must be relative to the dynamic situation. When it is relative it carries the following attributes, one it is timely, two it is proportionate, and three it is earnest. Thus a dynamic church is relative to a dynamic community when its response is timely, proportionate and earnest. The songwriter says that God is an on time God and that is so but it is not abnormal for that to be tested in our lives and demands of us to have the patience of Job. For the aged warrior whose faith has been battle tested the confidence in God to respond is not shaken by the dynamics of the time but for the beleaguered community whom we hope to convey that in God we trust is not just words on our money but faith we live by the need for a relative response is significant. In our text Jesus saw her and had compassion on her. Jesus heard her mourning and saw her tears and his response is relative to the level of her agony. Her tears told her story, her mourning revealed her pain, her face had the battle scars of one that had hoped only to see it taken away by the harsh hand of death. Jesus response is timely, proportionate and earnest. It is a challenge for us as well to respond to the desperate community in such a manner. I can recall having my foundation shaken and the walls seemingly came crumbling down only to come to church and in the midst of the worship experience feel the presence of God and renewed and strengthened to run on a little while longer. The relative need was just to be among the saints. Others there need is different and there situation demands a dynamic response. Can fifty year old policies and procedures respond to a dynamic crisis? Most likely not a dynamic crisis requires a dynamic response often times not mediated in meetings or procedures but are relative to the situation at hand. Take for consideration a family where the primary financial provider looses her job because of company cutbacks in this difficult economic climate. What should be the response of a dynamic church? While it may not be practical for the church to offset the loss of salary, it is vital to provide the mentoring and partnering necessary to get through the difficult times. The distribution of a resume, financial counseling, budgeting help, encouragement and mediation of major expenses. The dynamic church out of the footprint of Jesus must show compassion and provide a response relative to the crisis at hand
3. It must be reverent 14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, rise!" 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Not only is the dynamic church required to be relevant and relative it must be reverent. It must be in alignment with the will of God. That is what segregates the church from a fraternity, sorority or social agency. The church is reverent to the will and the way of God. While we hope to be dynamic we are never to lose our connection with God. The institution does not create change or restore hope, it is the life giving force of the institution that generates the change and produces the hope. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that gives life, that speaks to the hearts of men and women. In our text Jesus does the unimaginable he crosses the line. When Jesus sees he, his compassion drove him to respond in a way that no one could have expected. Jesus stops the procession with a touch. His touch of the bier, of the coffin freezes the procession in its tracks. A touch of the bier meant that a transfer was taking place. Under normal circumstances the transfer was from the coffin to the one that did the touching. In the levitical law one who touched a coffin would be declared unclean and only through the act of ritual purification could they become clean again. Jesus touching would be considered unusual and even reckless. His touch changed things, because instead of the transfer being from the deceased to the one who did the touching the transfer was from the toucher to the dead. When Jesus touched the coffin the transfer of life from the life giver to the dead took place. Now if we are going to be a dynamic church I want you to know that sometimes you are going to have touch what somebody else may be declaring as unclean but I want you to know that when the touch is a relevant, relative and reverent touch there is a transfer that will take place. When Jesus touched the coffin, and said “Young man I say to you rise” the dead man sat up. When the church operates out of a dynamic motif I promise you the dead will sit up. When the church says I don’t care what others think, I will tell the Lesbian that God loves her. When the church says I don’t care what others think I will say to the AIDS infected that God loves him. When the church says I don’t care what others think I will say to the homeless that God loves you. When the church says I don’t care what others think I will say to the broken busted and disgusted that God cares the dead will find new life.
Wrap Up
16 Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen among us!" and "God has looked favorably on his people!"
