Matthew 28:16-20

I would venture most of us know this passage fairly well. I would also venture, that most of those that know it wonder how directly it applies to us. And a good number of those hope against the odds that it doesn’t.  As good Methodists, many of us don’t want to make people do something.  We like free will, freedom of choice. And the idea of “making disciples” sounds a bit too pushy and coercive for our liking. Right?  We don’t want to be associated with those who cram religion or faith down others’ throats and so we steer clear of this commandment.

The problem is it’s a commandment.  It’s what Christ has instructed us to do. In essence, it’s why we exist as Christians.  It’s both who we are Christians—because someone else made us disciples, and what we are to do as Christians—to go make disciples of others.

We are called to obey all that Christ has taught us. That includes loving our neighbor, loving our enemies, including the marginalized, humbly serving others, submitting our power, forgiving, and seeking justice.  All those things that sound easy by practically are very challenging are what we are admonished to do. And in doing those things, we should be teaching and encouraging others to do the same. Not forcing. Not coercing. But modeling in such a way that it compels others to follow Christ too.

Maybe you’re still reluctant?  Think of it this way:

We are each a disciple of Christ. You are a follower. You are an apprentice of sorts.  You try and emulate him in your daily life, sometimes with greater success than others.  But regardless, you follow Christ and seek to be more and more like him—more gracious, more loving, more humble, more compassionate, more inclusive, and more merciful.

You are a disciple. And, you are a disciple because someone taught you how. Another disciple taught you how to see with eyes of compassion, how to pray with conviction, how to read the Bible with interest, how to serve with humility, how to be blessed by giving to others. Someone else taught you the stories of Christ and what it is that he holds high. And because of them, you are here.

One disciple (or maybe more) made you a disciple through their example of kindness, or thoughtfulness, or conviction, or hope, or forgiveness, or grace.  They lived in such a way that compelled you to do the same.

And that’s what we are called to do. We are called to live as disciples of Christ in a way that compels others to follow in a way that rallies people to live for peace, justice, hope, reconciliation, and wholeness. To make disciples is to live authentically in the ways of Jesus and teach others to do the same.

Discipleship is not scary. It’s not condemning. It’s life-giving. It’s peace-making. It’s forgiveness offering.

And that’s what we want to be intentional about doing in the coming years.  Last weekend, the church council met to talk about and discern a vision for our church for the next couple of years.  In looking at the nature of our church, we decided that we are the family of God dedicated to caring for all, and our core values are: 1) Nurturing others, 2) Hospitality and welcome, 3) Spiritual formation and discipleship.  For us, (hopefully with a strong understanding of all of us as a church), living our discipleship means bringing people to the family of God, helping them feel a part of the love, welcome, and joy that we have experienced here at Wesley.  We want to nurture them, show them that they are important and special, and we want to help them grow in the ways of Christ. 

Wesley was started by families, and, by in large, throughout our history, we have consisted of families.  Families that were large and small, traditional and non-traditional, families that looked like us and families that didn’t.  We have been a family church. And as we look around our community, we can easily see more families that could be a part of the Wesley family.  There are families that are broken and blended, families that are healthy and some that are unhealthy, families that are religious and families that aren’t, families that are brown, and families that are black, families that are white, families that are Asian, and families that are Indian.  Families that were born here and families that weren’t.  Families that are rich and families that are poor. Families that are educated and families that are illiterate. There is a great diversity of families in our midst. They have so much to teach us and we have so much to give. 

And this family, our family through Christ, the brothers and sisters who gather here each week could fall in love. We could fall in love with the moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and all the kids that comprise these families.  Our hearts could grow even larger as we learn their stories and come to care for them. 

And we can live out our calling with them. We can disciple them. Some will be familiar with Christ’s ways and what he taught and how he lived. Some will make an easy transition into church life.  Others have never heard the stories. Others have never been told they are precious, or worthy or important. Others have never known true forgiveness. Others have never served a stranger or been reconciled to an enemy. Others have never known peace in their homes, or joy in their work. And it’s our job to disciple them.  It’s our job to model the life we have been called to live.  It’s our calling to love them and teach them to serve; to encourage them and affirm them.  It’s our role to pray with them and help them heal. 

God has given us such great gifts here at Wesley. I’m not sure many of you realize how amazingly blessed and gifted this church body is.  You all are a precious jewel in God’s kingdom. You have so much to offer, so much love to share, and just being with you is healing and redemptive for people.  God has such a promising future for this church. And to get there, we have to use our gifts. We have to reach out to others—in all of their diversity, and live our calling.  Christ’s commandment is simple, not easy, but simple, we must live as Christ taught us to live, and in so doing, we will show others what is possible through a life with Christ, and when they want that, we must teach them what to do.  We must live as Christ taught us to live, and in so doing, we will show others what is possible through a life with Christ, and when they want that, we must teach them what to do. 

We are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Not by mandate, but by loving acceptance and inclusion. We are called to see our church as a place that exists both for the people within these walls as well as the people beyond these walls. We are called to lead, for how else will people follow?  We are called to inspire, so that others might know true hope. Our task is not easy, but it is simple and straightforward—to live authentically in the ways of Christ and to teach others to do the same.  Amen.

Daniel 7-12

As I mentioned in the first 2 sermons, we have to cautious and attentive when reading biblical literature.  If we aren’t careful, we can go in with our own agenda and answers and only find what we are looking for rather than looking for and listening to what is really there. 

When I was little, one of my favorite books was There’s a Monster at the End of this Book.  It’s a little Golden book staring Grover, the blue furry guy from Sesame Street.  Now, the title indicates that there’s a monster at the end of the book and upon seeing that Grover gets scared.  He’s scared the entire book and does everything in his power to stop you from turning the pages.  He puts up ropes and boards and bricks to make it impossible to turn the pages.  I tried to find it to share it with all of you, but must not have it anymore.  Anyway, Grover is scared, and begs the reader not to keep turning pages.  He doesn’t want to get to the end of the book because there’s a monster there!  He doesn’t want to be attacked by a monster.  Now, of course, as a kid, I kept reading and loved the more fervent pleas as I went along to stop reading.  And then, at the end of the book, there is indeed a monster…do you know which one?  Grover.  That’s right.  Huggable, lovable, Grover is a monster and he’s at the end of the book.  All that time he was afraid of something and someone that should never have been feared. 

To me, that’s how many of us read the book of Daniel, afraid because we’ve heard that there is something horrible in the book.  We don’t want to persist in reading these scriptures because we are worried about the cataclysmic doom that will befall us if we dare to read on and hear what is going to happen to us.  But just like Grover, we have no reason to fear.  Our fears will not be actualized on the pages of the Bible, not in this book anyway.  So, let’s read about some monsters and try and uncover what’s really there. 

How many of you read chapters 7-9 and thought, “Good Lord have mercy! This is scary weird stuff!”  How many of you felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz saying, “Lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh my!”??  Except they were worse.  Not just lions and tigers and bears, but a lion with the wings of eagles, and  a leopard with 4 wings like a bird, and a bear with 3 ribs in its mouth, and then a four headed beast.  These sound like something out o Narnia or Harry Potter, not something from Ancient Babylon. 

At this point in chapter 7, some of us check out—it’s just way too weird and there’s no chance we’re going to understand what happens.  Right?  But there is.  All you have to do is read a bit further and get to the 2^nd half of chapter 7 and it tells you what is really happening.  Remember, much like parables, apocalyptic literature isn’t’ really about the thing that it’s about.

This vision isn’t about lions and tigers and bears. It’s not about mythological characters or a weird acid trip.  It’s actually about power and authority and the rulers of the land.  The 2^nd half of Daniel tells us this, “The 4 great beasts are 4 kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes for ever and ever.” So the 4 beasts aren’t real. They weren’t going to appear in front of Daniel or the Israelites and take over the world.  Instead, each beast is symbolic.  Much like the metals of the statue we say in chapter 2.  Remember?  The gold head was Babylon. The silver chest was Medes.  The Bronze body was Persia and the steal legs were Greece. 

These beasts are much the same. Each one represents a succeeding kingdom.  Chapter 8 has a similar vision-this one with goats and rams and horns, but all represent kingdoms we’ve already seen before (chapter 8 tells us that)—Media, Persia, and Greece. 

Now, chapter 8 is one of those places where people get bunged up because they see and read certain words and hone in on those and then lose sight o everything else that is there.  Can anyone guess what those words are? 

They come from chapter 8 verse 17 when the angel says, “Understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”  My guess is that most of us hear that and are led to certain thoughts.  Right?  Like what?

·         Destruction

·         Rapture

·         End of times

·         End of the world

Lots of people make that connection, but I we do that here, we will get WAY off track.  This isn’t about that.  Not in our terms or our day.

This book and these visions are isolated to a very specific time in history--from around 680-650 BC to 160 BC.  Daniel’s visions are not about our future.  They were particular to the Israelites’ exile in Babylon—through each of the kingdoms represented by the beasts followed by a return to Jerusalem and the Promised Land.

The “end” that is spoken of is the end of Israelite suffering in exile. Chapter 10 chronicles what will happen in those kingdoms in the years after Daniel—who will rule, who will fall, who will be in power, and, in the end, how the suffering of the exile will end. 

That’s it.  No big scary monster.  No mass destruction of the earth. No flying beasts. But the rise and all of powers, and the promised redemption of God’s people.  After all that worry, it’s only the blessing and promise of a loving God. 

Daniel is not a book to be feared.  In a lot of ways, to us now, it’s a history book chronicling the cycle of power during the Israelite exile.  It’s not a book of God’s wrath or destruction.  It’s one that should bring us peace and hope.  After all—what we see is that no matter which countries take power, their era will come to an end and God’s reign will overcome. That, my friends, is good news.