One day Jesus’ disciple John comes to Jesus upset.  “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” (Mark 9:38) How dare him claim your name, Jesus, when he does not carry our union card.  How like you and me.  We want to control the love Christ works through us.  We doubt this love works without us in charge.  But just maybe Christ’s love becomes more real exactly when we let go, when we give up our control, and when we welcome Christ to take over and bless us, bless us far beyond our human control.  When we learn this lesson: how to serve Christ and how to welcome Christ to work through us, we are in the springtime of our lives. 

When I was a student in theological seminary, one dear professor, seeking to help us aspiring pastors, would look out over our class and say, “Gentlemen, (And this was long before any women were students for the ministry); Gentlemen, if you can’t be a success in the ministry, you can always go to work.”  How do we measure success in our ministry in the name of Christ?  I worried my professor saw the ministry as soft, easy, goofing off, whereas in other professions you really had to work.  Took me a while to figure out what he meant.  What he was trying to get us to understand is that no matter how busy we are in ministry, only God makes it work.   We should give God alone in Christ Jesus all the credit, all the praise, honor and glory, and let go of our insistence that our hard work is so indispensable.

Jesus counsels John this way:  “Do not stop him; (someone working for God outside our fold) for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.  Whoever is not against us is for us. Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” (Mark 9:39-41)  Christ calls us, Christ sends us, Christ chooses to work his love through us.  Yet we must give Christ all credit and glory and claim none for ourselves.   For Christ’s love makes our love in his name possible.

One of my fellow seminary classmates tells this story on him self, to show no matter how hard you work to serve Christ, don’t plan on taking credit when Christ works through you.  My friend tells his story this way: “As a young minister, a funeral director asked me to hold a graveside service for a homeless man, no family or friends, who died while traveling through the area.  The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.

“As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a typical man I did not ask for directions.  I finally arrived an hour late.  I saw the grounds crew, eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.  I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in place.  I assured the workers I would not hold them long but this was the proper thing to do.“

The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch, and I was glad to have this small congregation for this service for this poor homeless man.  I poured out my heart and soul.  As I preached the cemetery workers got in the spirit and began to say ‘Amen, praise the lord, glory, and hallelujah.’  I preached and preached, like I’d never preached before; from Genesis all the way to Revelations.

“I closed the lengthy service with a prayer, thanked the workers, and walked to my car.  I felt good I had done my duty for the homeless man and was grateful the crew would leave with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, in spite of my tardiness.

“As I was opening the door of my car and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers say to another, ”I ain’t never seen nothing like this before…and I’ve been putting in these septic tanks for over twenty years.”

Christ calls for our best efforts, yet even our best efforts share Christ’s love

even when we may bungle our efforts and witness over a septic tank instead of a grave site.  One day Jesus’ disciples are arguing over who is greatest among them. How like us disciples today.   We want to be sure, to make certain, seek to control all variables, to guarantee our role, our status in Christ’s kingdom.  Jesus gently but profoundly corrects us.  “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”  Then Jesus takes a little child and puts this child among them; and taking this child in his arms, says “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sends me.” 

And so today we celebrate children’s and youth Sunday.  Of course every Sunday and every day are for our children and our young people, if we hear Jesus’ words.  “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” 

And so we baptize, as Jesus commissions us to do, and we promise to share Christ’s love with our little children.  We promise all together to teach them, and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Baptism, the work of the Holy Spirit, begins with water on the head, and continues day by day, year by year when we share the living waters, share our Lord’s love and judgment as our children and young people grow up, and then bring their own children into this world and seek to share the same love we have shared with them. 

“Teach new disciples all I have commanded you,” Jesus commissions us to do.  What is this we must teach?  In our gospel lesson Jesus puts it simply but so profoundly.  “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, this one Lord God who creates us, calls us, saves us, blesses us, invites us to respond to this great love, invites us to love God our heavenly lover, with all our heart, soul, mind, strength, and our neighbor as ourself.”   Here is the core, the heart and soul of our faith.  Sounds so simple, but requires a lifetime to hear, to practice, to learn, to share.

The late theologian Henri Nouwen reports how he visited an orphanage in Vietnam during that sad time of war.  Someone took a picture of his visit and in this picture he sees himself standing, surrounded by small children in that orphanage, children hanging onto his pants,

grabbing his hands, his fingers, reaching up to his arms and face.  “Never have I been so in demand.” he reflects.   “Never have so many people wanted my attention so desperately.  I felt so inadequate.  I didn’t speak their language; they didn’t speak mine.  We could communicate only through smiles and gestures and hugs.  I had only an hour to spend there, and had to be on my way.  I gave what I had.  It wasn’t much.  I saw how desperately those little kids wanted one thing, to be touched, hugged, stroked, caressed, loved. 

Nouwen goes on, “Probably most adults have the same needs, but no longer have the innocence and unself-consciousness to express such basic needs.  Sometimes I see all humanity as a sea of people, like little children, starving for affection.  Everyone seems to cry, ‘Please love me.’  The cry becomes louder and the response so inaudible that people begin to kill each other and themselves in despair.  Those little orphans in Vietnam taught me more than they could ever know…If we don’t love one another, sooner or later, we kill one another.  There’s no middle ground.”

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and let us love our God, as our God has first loved us even when we may be unlovable.   Our great God has loved this whole world so much he comes to live among us and share such love with us in self-sacrifice and resurrection to life abundant and life eternal, and gives his Spirit unto to us to teach us how to love one another and our neighbor as ourself.  This is why we are here, this is why we worship, this is why we celebrate our opportunity, our calling, our responsibility to baptize, to teach, to practice this same love for our God and for one another, for all our neighbors, even our enemies.

This is why we celebrate the gifts of our children and our youth.  This is why we study our resources and focus our resources upon strong and faithful ministry to keep Christ’s presence growing stronger and stronger here year after year.  This is why we must repair our buildings, our roof and our windows, update our worship and teaching instruments and facilities; repair our heating and air-conditioning systems, all to assure that these our children and the next generation and the next generation coming along will also benefit from this Spirit of Christ Jesus whose commandments are so simple and yet so indispensable in the mind of the God whose we are. 

I now call upon Ginna Taylor and Leslie Clay to share their testimonies.  Listen to Ginna and to Leslie and hear how they make this point in their own words.

Ginna Taylor says:

“In talking about the Capital Campaign, at a certain time something Rev. McCoy said really spoke to me.  I had one of those “aha” moments…you know, insight that sets you back on your seat and at the same time props you up to full attention.

“I grew up in this church, baptized by Dr. Benfield.  I attended Sunday School, my brother’s basketball games, worship, confirmation class of ’81.  That’s 1981, by the way.  I was married here in this sanctuary.  So when Rev. McCoy stated things sort of in this way, they spoke to me. 

“In the past, people of this church have made important decisions…made generous contributions.  They “stepped up to the plate” to provide the wonderful facilities that we enjoy today.  When time came to expand the facility, the Education Building was built.  Likewise, years later the Activities Building was added.  And years in between, decisions were made and donations came in to upkeep and to upgrade all that we have here.

“Now, it’s our turn…MY turn…aha!  What kind of decisions am I going to make?  How can I “step up to the plate” now that it is my turn at bat?

“I think of all the advantages that I’ve been fortunate enough to have here at First Presbyterian Church all of my life.  Decisions that were made years before I was even born impacted my growth, my Christian spiritual growth, and added to my journey of faith.

“It was then that it all came together for me.  Yesterday, those who held this church dear provided all that we have.  Today, it’s my turn…it’s our turn…to continue the way…for tomorrow…all the many collective tomorrows, not just the ones that we will know.  Aha!…it’s all right here, really.  Lighting the way, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

Leslie Clay says:

“As I reflect on my experience in this church, I see standing before me all these mentors who have shaped my life.  I call to mind Pete Slicer and Dick Smith who were my Sunday School teachers.  They have seen me grow up in this church, as have many others, many of you in worship today. 

“Dave Nolan was my basketball coach when I was in junior high, and he is still coaching today.  Louise Robinson used to bake cookies with me and we would sell them in our neighborhood so I could give the money to the church and its ministry.

Ardath Francke was a mentor and protector to me.  Her spiritual gifts led me to my calling.  All these people, all of YOU people, mentored me and watched my back and continue to do so. 

“That is why doing the same for the youth is so important to me.  It is my investment in human capital, which is what really matters.  So as we begin this capital campaign, I think that our financial resources are only a tool, a vital tool, in our effort to invest in human capital.  Our lives and our souls are enriched in this our home.  This is not just a building that houses our activities.  It is our church home.”

Thank you Ginna and Leslie for your testimonies.  And I could ask each one of you here in worship today to share your testimony also.  Once when Mother Teresa visited this country, in Washington, DC, a woman asked, “Mother Teresa, how may we help you?”  To which Mother Teresa responded, “Love your family.” 

When the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth visited this country toward the end of his life to lecture at Princeton University, during a news conference he was pressed to summarize his great achievement in theology, now filling an entire shelf of books.  Karl Barth replied, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to him belong.  They are weak but he is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.”