Homecoming –
Whoa, what an honor, to be invited to speak to you for your.. …Well … MY….Our homecoming celebration. After all it is me that was missing.
I thought it a little odd to be invited to come to speak to you in 2001, Ken asked me at one of the Big preachers’ meetings when he learned from my former pastor (Rev Lowe) that I spent some time in this church.
Ken honed in like some kind of a “speaker seeking missile” and insisted that I let him put my name on the list for 2006.
Perhaps most of you probably looked at the name, Rev. Tom Bowen and found absolutely no connection with the name. That may be because my name has changed since then.
I used to be called TAB. Does that help you at all? Humm…not really
So let me just tell you, that I was never pastor here.
I was baptized in this church so as Paul describes, some plant others water and so on.
Basically that means that I was made a part of the family and that means you have no choice but to take me in today.
So, I was a mere infant and young child in this church. Perhaps you know my parents, Tom and Martha but have no recollection of me and let me tell you that is perfectly OK.
I probably don’t know you either.
I was reminded that I was in this church between the age of about 3 and 10. Which was several decades ago and I hope that I have been forgiven for the things that a rambunctious young boy might have done in the way of minor damage or smart-aleck comments or pranks.
--I hope for that same grace today from all of you that are here to witness anything I might do or say - today.
Let me tell you that the fact that most of you don’t remember or never knew me offers me more comfort than you might know.
That means the majority of you have a limited opinion of me.
For you not to know me means that almost none of you are thinking, I used to change his diapers or something as potentially embarrassing.
(Sorry about the mental image).
If you happen to be an exception to that ( Mom, Dad perhaps others) please let’s just leave that between just us.
Or at least let me leave town before you share amusing stories that would make me crawl under the table.
I saw the write up in the news letter that defined what a homecoming is… “Homecoming is a wonderful tradition that many churches annually celebrate. During Homecoming, the congregation reflects upon its past and its future.”
That is a nice definition.
It is really accurate and I really like the idea of bringing together all the old pictures.
Picture have a way of waking up memories of images and people. Either you suddenly remember or a new person or maybe catch glimpse the way it was. Sometime the imagination kicks into gear and connects the old days to the new opportunities of life.
A homecoming is really a family reunion for the household of God. People get together that have a history and the relationships often come alive as if decades never happened.
Often when we leave we wonder why we ever lost touch and vow to do better, even if it is only with a phone call or an occasional visit.
Paul stayed in contact with letters. He was a little old fashioned. Email, well that was just a little informal. And text messaging he probably considered just plain rude. Having conversation interrupted by beeps or music and having people looking down punching buttons….just plain rude.
I am sure with his eyesight and hands that little keyboard on the phone just drove him nuts.
But his methods of writing and visiting actually never seem to loose their effectiveness in bring people back together. Renewing bonds…commitments and faith.
In the section of scripture today Paul is addressing the problem of people that formed allegiance with one teacher or another.
Scriptures give us some insights about what Paul was like. He had a strong personality.
He was a working man, a tent maker by trade. In his day there was nothing wrong with knowing a trade. He was educated by a well known rabbi and was on the fast tract to being a person to serve on the Sanhedrin someday.
There is one physical description which occurs outside of the Bible. A person that did not know Paul was given a description of how to spot Paul when he came to the city.
He tells in his account of going to the city gate to watch as people that entered the town how he identified Paul:
“a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness:””
It seems that Paul’s appearance made him stand out in perhaps less than a flattering way.
Some were converted to Christianity by Paul and held to every word and utterance he made. He seems to have overcome what might be a less than striking appearance with charisma and personality.
If anybody said or did it differently than Paul, well they were just wrong. They might listen to others describing faith and say “well I follow Paul and he never said it that way.”
After Paul’s time in Corinth, Apollos came to town and others really liked his preaching style. Some believe that he was a sharp fellow…educated Alexandrian Jew. He could teach doctrine and make it so interesting. He was so friendly had a sharp hair cut and always wore a tie and a coat.
Now this Apollos guy was what a preacher should be. And some claim an allegiance behind this man.
This part of Paul’s letter is intended to say that it is not about the teacher and his abilities it is about the teaching.
It seems that the church was segmenting itself by listening to different leaders and finding different messages for their faith. They would divide themselves up into special little groups using the methods and styles of a particular teacher as being superior and everything else inferior…
They were dividing up into un-unified little groups because their focus was in the wrong place.
Aren’t you glad that in our day people are not like that?
Driven by fads or something we see on infomercial or the latest book. Perhaps, some are influenced by the Discover channel shows like the real Jesus or movies that claim to explain what really happened in the early church Like the Divenci Code.
How about when as United Methodist the preacher is changed.
Some might cheer because they felt limited or oppressed under the leadership of one pastor….Some are almost destroyed because of the loss of a true friend and family member.
It is easy to let information and situations divide us into pockets of support or resistance.
That is really what has happened with Paul, he came in and planted and helped in the forming of a group, then Apollos and in as the younger man to tend and water what was started.
But here is Paul’s real point, neither of these two men was anything more than just a worker in the kingdom…neither could do anything on their own.
You see Paul explains that only God…..ONLY GOD can make things grow.
Any time any Christian forgets that it is God that is actually in charge and place their allegiance or disappointment in a man they are off track.
They are forgetting that it is the work of God and not man that they expect to witness.
Paul is writing to a congregation that is dividing itself up into divisions based on human differences and failing to notice that God wants unity based on his invitation and preparation made through different men…. God is using different methods to reach different kinds of people and to mature the believers in their faith.
HE is not creating two faiths or goals but for one relationship with God through The Good news of Jesus Christ.
In other letters Paul addressed problems of false teachers, those that come to give a different message than the gospel.
However, in this scripture he indicated that both the planter and the waterier offer the one message.
This is not a division created by the leaders, it is a division created by the new believers that are desperate for the truth but think that God can only work in one person, one method one way. People have a tendency to try to put God and his methods into boxes of our choosing.
The laborers – Paul and Apollos are going to be rewarded not according to the results of their methods but, to the fact they did the best they could with the individual talents and graces that God provided.
They were to live out their call and do the work and give their full energy to the job they were sent to do. Their work if they are teaching about Christ will ultimately leads to unity within a church and not separation.
They also were expected to understand that they were not the ones that caused growth, makes all things happen. How often to preachers and churches forget that detail…
Now let me be sure to say that the leaders are not the only workers in the field. God has an expectation that the whole church will grow and mature and over time every member is expected to be a worker on God’s building or farm.
The church, Teachers leaders and members were to understand that they are completely dependant on God. They were partners with everyone in the church as fellow laborers with God.
Fellow laborers means that they are all working on the same mission. They are working for the good of the Body of Christ and not for individual parts. The labor that Paul expect to see mature in the Christians of the day will only be made complete with God’s blessing. It will really only be celebrated at the time of the final harvest and not in the growing season.
Homecoming is a time to review the past, the joys of the relationships the wok of the laborers.
- The James sisters, some of the pastors that came and have gone.
- Families that have been a part of the congregation and departed for life’s reasons.
- Those that were a part of the family that have passed from this earthly realm to the heavenly… all that comes together in the homecoming experience.
- Homecoming offers the opportunity to renew the relationships that are on hold for what ever reason.
- It is also a time to notice what this church body has helped to do.
It is interesting that Paul uses the farm situation but it seems like if a person planted then obviously they would see the harvest…
But that really only happens if you own the farm. If you are a laborer for the owner you my not see all the steps and may not know if the plants you started produce.
That can leave a person, a pastor, a Sunday school teacher and even a whole church feeling incomplete and unfulfilled. Because we think we are responsible for the outcome, for the fruit and growth.
I have a neighbor that is a professional farmer. He is overseeing the whole operation from the seat of his tractor 8 feet off the ground. It seems like he could never tell the health of his plants from way up there. But in reality because he can see the big picture over the while field he actually can actually get a better understanding of growth and yield. What I am saying is that he can take the time to see the results of the ground preparation, the planting, the fertilizer all that he has done to make a difference in the crop.
If a church and it’s members never take the time to celebrate and invite people to come to the family reunion then all the efforts of the past may feel like a waste.
That is why I believe that homecoming is so important to the life of a church….
It is the chance to see what God has done…
To reunite with Families that still hold to faith even though the have been gone for years…
To learn about Children that have grownup and have their families in church where ever they are…
And some times, some of the preachers that were planted and watered in this branch of the family of God come home and perhaps the real miracle of what God can do comes alive in our hearts and minds. Perhaps even what God can do with a snot-nosed smart-alick kid
A church that is united to do ministry by focusing n the message of God will always find joy and satisfaction at a homecoming celebration if they look at all that God ahs done because and perhaps in spite of our labors..
Let me share a few of my pictures with you. They are pictures of the mind.
Of course, I remember every thing as being bigger and farther away.
I remember the parsonage that sat really close to this spot.
I remember a Christmas party in the old basement where we were standing in a circle sings carols and I requested Rudolph the red nose rein deer and as the group sang I did the repeat parts…Rein deer, rein deer.
I remember Children’s Choir practice…Sorry….
I remember wanting to climb what seemed to be an enormous wooden tower built by the scouts behind the church.
I remember my last day here, using my parents brownie camera to take pictures and leaving the front porch that day.
All those snapshots of the mind bring fond memories which remind me of a childhood in the house of God and I link to the feeling of family.
I have just a few other snap shots that I want to share that I link to the seeds planted in me personally.
They are less in the mind because you can see them just as clearly as I can recall them in my head.
The first time I came back here for some kind of ministry event was maybe 7 or 8 years ago, I sat in this sanctuary and looked over at the window and my mind identified the Lamb of God over there. It was a sock or a sudden surprise…not like a stroke or anything negative….Recognition
I quickly scanned around the room and recognized that I was at home. I was in a house of God where at the time I did not recognize a single face but I the child hood images of my faith….screamed with an inner joy…Home
The stained glass windows in this room are stamped in my mind.
As a child in the old sanctuary I may not remember the words of the preacher, but I do recall the story for Faith and Jesus Christ which were planted within me.
Which come so alive and renewed every time I visit my earliest church home.
There was only one thing missing….After the meeting I mentioned to a person with me What I had noticed. The sudden feeling of the present of the god of child hood….But there was one thing, one image missing… I pointed to the front and said there used to be a picture of Jesus on the wall over the preachers head. As I tuned, I spotted it now on the back wall.
I wonder something? If that window of Jesus was again on the front wall, would we remember that it is not about the preacher, teacher, programs or anything other than Jesus? Where the preacher can see and remember whose house this really is.
If you made your self look up as you left a service would you remember that your are a laborer in the kingdom, working for the glory of the owner and not for our personal gain?
The final thought on homecoming is what we are celebrating in a small way today what is promised to happen on a grand scale on day as we all reach the heavenly realm.
We will then Really have the full view of What God has done as we celebrate the Full homecoming of the church.
All Glory be to God!
