Seven ways to say yes
This series stretches forward from Easter to Pentecost, on which the people of Galileo can make (or remake) a one-year commitment to be co-conspirators in our church’s missional priorities. We have identified seven “habits of life” by which we demonstrate our prioritization of the church’s mission:
• contemplation of our baptism, past or future
• presence – physical and emotional – at gatherings of the church
• cultivation of spiritual gifts for the life of our church and community
• sharing of material resources to further the church’s goals (money, house, stuff, etc.)
• extension of the church’s welcome to friends, neighbors, strangers, and enemies
• gracious receipt of care from the church family
• participation in the church’s discernment for our next steps together
Contemplation of your baptism, past or future. We’ll focus especially on three moves: (1) Peter describes a new reality based on JC’s resurrection; (2) the people say “yes” to that new reality in baptism; (3) their “yes” leads to a new form of community life. Psalm 51:10-17; Acts 2:1-47.
Presence – physical and emotional – at gatherings of the church. Sandhya will talk about how “presence” is actually a prophetic move – the fact that Galileo exists, for example, is a justice action, and just by showing up we are thumbing our noses at those who would prefer that we disappear… Exodus 14:1-14; Hebrews 10:19-25.
Cultivation of spiritual gifts for the life of our church and community. This passage in Ephesians emphasizes how we protect each other from the world-making lies that we might be susceptible to on our own. Together we shield each other from that stuff. The gifts of the Spirit are our resources for this strengthening, protective work. Psalm 34:1-14; Ephesians 4:1-16.
Sharing of material resources to further the church’s goals (money, house, stuff, etc.). These are interesting examples of people giving out of poverty so that the purposes of the community of faith will be forwarded – beautiful worship, in the case of Exodus; evangelistic travels, in the case of 2 Corinthians. The church has different purposes in different ages and places, yes? And so we’ll talk about how our resources fund the particular purpose of Galileo Church for now. Exodus 35:4-29; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.
Extension of the church’s welcome to friends, neighbors, strangers, and enemies. John the Baptist “testifies” concerning Jesus – this chapter uses that verb for his preaching several times. What does it look like to “testify” to what we have found at Galileo Church? We’ll talk about the nature of testimony – it’s not rhetorically didactic or persuasive; it’s simply (and truthfully) an account of what you have experienced for yourself. See also Matthew 8:1-4. (“Say nothing, but show yourself, as a testimony…”) Psalm 96; John 1:1-34.
Gracious receipt of care from the church family. Peter does not want Jesus to wash his feet – why not? Maybe because it’s so darn hard to receive help when you want to be perceived as strong. Church people usually know that they should be washing each other’s feet (metaphorically speaking), but they don’t always want to concede that it’s their turn for a foot bath. And we’ll recast the familiar 1 Cor. passage not as a “use your gifts” instruction but rather as a “care for one another” passage. 1 Corinthians 12:14-26; John 13:1-16.
Participation in the church’s discernment for our next steps together. The church needs the collective wisdom of its members, which is a valuable gift of the Spirit (Ephesians). And how do we know if we have wisdom? “Wisdom is vindicated by her children.” In other words, our discerning and plan-making yields fruit, or it doesn’t, and collectively we celebrate (or recalibrate) based on the outcome of our discernment. Ephesians 1:1-14; Luke 7:31-35.