Bethesda First Baptist Church, Bethesda, MD October 3, 2004
Some things end, but are not completed. Other things are completed, but do not end. There is a world of difference between the two.
Some things end, but are not completed. Some things stop, unfinished. All these recent accidents involving teenagers are a reminder of this. Too many lives ended in a fiery crash. But those lives were not completed. Those who died might have grown families, but did not. They had dreams they were never able to develop. It’s tragic when things end, but are not completed.
On the other hand, some things are completed, but do not end. Some things come to the point where you know that all that can be done has been done, and that, wonderful to think of, what you have set in motion will not end. Just this past Thursday, thanks to retirement, my church-paid medical insurance ended. That means no more prescription coverage. Let me tell you, as my wife came home from the hospital that day with three prescriptions, I ran to that pharmacy to get them filled before the insurance ended. But the government years ago set up an entitlement called Medicare. The legislation was passed, the administration was created, and now it’s so set in stone that no president, no congress would dream of terminating Medicare. They didn’t do a perfect job; but what they did will not end. That’s what we want, don’t we? Something that is completed, but will not end. That’s glorious!
Some things end, but are not completed. Other things are completed, but do not end. There is a world of difference between the two.
As you come to a time of transition in the life of your church, it is time to measure what you have completed that will not end and not what is ending but incomplete. For things that end without being completed are tragic. But things that are completed will not end, and that is glorious. .
I
First, let’s look at what you have done. Let’s focus on what has been accomplished. But with a twist, with a difference. Let’s look at the kinds of things that the apostle Paul said he had accomplished in his own life. These things that Paul cited are very similar to some of the things you have done as a church. But the curious thing is that Paul sort of dismissed his attainments. He called them rubbish, garbage. Maybe that means there are some questions we need to raise about the church too. What have you done, and what does it mean?
You might want to open up to Philippians 3:5-6 and follow with me. It’s quite a list. What does Paul say he has to brag about?
“Circumcised the eighth day” That means his parents put him through the ritual that made him officially a part of the people of Israel. He didn’t exercise any faith, he didn’t make any decision. He was only eight days old. But he was ushered into God’s chosen people by the ritual.
Over the years, how many hundreds of people have been brought into church membership here? Some came by baptism, some transferred from other churches, others were received on the basis of their statement of faith. Hundreds of people! Isn’t that remarkable?! Is that is something you can boast about? Except that all too many of those persons you do not see and cannot even find today! I was particularly struck that on the Sunday, two weeks ago, when the supposition was that the pastor candidate would be here, and that was widely communicated, still the attendance did not step up. Does that mean that for too many, joining this church was all about ritual and not about substance? I don’t know. But maybe we cannot boast in numerical achievement; that might be some kind of rubbish. Let’s try something else.
Paul says that he could have, if he wanted to, brag not only about being circumcised the eighth day, but also about being a member of the people of Israel. Israel thought of itself as God’s special people. Israel was proud that she alone had God chosen out of all the nations. Have you here at Bethesda liked to talk about how special you are, how unique? When I first came to the Washington area, more than thirty years ago, someone said, “Bethesda First Baptist is the church for the scientists and the scholars, for the NIH people and university folks.” I was impressed. There’s nothing wrong with that. I understand the importance of focusing on the needs of a certain kind of person. Is that something you could boast about? You’re reached special people – except that you’ve been seeing folks keep their distance. You’ve been feeling the pinch of aging, and the mix is not as rich as it once was. So while, like Paul, you might like to boast in feeling special, that too is rubbish. Let’s try something else.
Next Paul says that, he was not only circumcised, and not only a member of the chosen people, but he was also in the tribe of Benjamin. He was in the upper crust, the elite. He was in Israel-plus, the distinguished tribe of Benjamin. And you here at Bethesda are pretty clear that you have some distinct values. What does it say on the cover of your bulletin? “Intentionally inclusive, socially conscious, uniquely Baptist.” Your tribe has that spirit of independence, doing your own thing. Your tribe at Bethesda maybe can boast about that – except that sometimes things have remained unfinished just because somebody is opposed, or somebody is indifferent. So while we might like to boast in our Benjamin Baptist Bethesda individualism, I guess that is rubbish too. It has kept us from some accomplishments.
Is there anything else you can boast about? Is there anything else you have done? I shall not elaborate the rest. I shall only point you to the other brownie points Paul says he piled up, and ask you whether your church has the same kind of record. “A Hebrew born of Hebrews” – worshiping tradition, stuck in one way of seeing things. Is that you? “As to the law, a Pharisee” – scrupulous about little things, but, according to Jesus, neglecting the greater things, like justice, love, and mercy. Is Bethesda guilty of majoring on the minors, like how long the Sunday service lasts and whether we worship with dignity, and then of downplaying the real stuff, like serving others in need and sharing the Gospel? Is that possible? I leave it to you to decide. I will only point you to this – that Paul understood that all he had attained, all he had accomplished, he was now ready to consign to the rubbish heap. He was ready to set it all aside, because there was one overriding desire, there was one overwhelming need – and that was to know Christ personally and to experience His power. To know Christ personally and to experience His resurrection power. Everything else was rubbish by comparison, and Paul knew that he had to keep his eyes on the prize of knowing Christ.
II
Brothers and sisters, knowing Christ is the purpose God has at His heart for His church. Slice it however you will, what church is about is to share with the last, the least, the lost, and the lonely, winning them, heart and mind and soul and strength, to faith in Christ. Everything that we do, from publishing bulletins to plastering walls, from hiring staff to eating fellowship dinners – everything ought to contribute to the aim of knowing Christ and experiencing His power. If it does not do that, it is rubbish. It should be set aside if it does not keep our eyes on the prize.
As I have suggested, there are many things you have done and could boast about, but there are questions, and so we’d better not proceed with boasting. But neither is this the time to blame yourselves about what you have not accomplished. This is a time to look forward. This is a time to press on. This is a time, as Paul says, to forget about what lies behind and to strain forward toward the goal. This is a time steadfastly to put our eyes on the prize of the call of God in Christ Jesus and to become what God is calling us to become. This is a time to consign to the rubbish heap things that we may have depended on in the past, and to live in sheer, audacious faith in the Christ who brought you together and who will lead you forward.
Churches, like individuals, sometimes get sick. They catch infections. But just as you don’t blame the victim for his own illness, so also you don’t blame the church for its own difficulties. I do not know you well enough to be certain of this, but I do wonder whether there is a case of guilt that has captured you. Guilt and shame are deadly. For you to wallow in guilt because the church as you have known it is no longer functional will not help anybody. For you to gulp down heaping doses of shame because your church is not competitive right now will be of no value. This is the time to move on. This is the time to press forward toward what the Lord wants you to do, more than anything else in all the world, and that is to make Christ known. Keep your eye on that prize – not on what makes you comfortable or on what you’ve always done, but on what makes Christ known. “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.”
For remember, some things end, but are not completed. Other things are completed, but do not end. There is a world of difference between the two. .
III
Now there is one more thing to be said, one more matter to be dealt with. And that is relationships. That is love, the bond that holds people together. Paul says to the Philippians, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.”
Brothers and sisters, you have stood firm for some important things over the years. You have been intentionally inclusive, socially conscious, and uniquely Baptist. And that’s all good. But most of all, you have been a community of people who have cared for one another, loved one another, supported one another, in difficult times. Complete that. Complete the vision for this congregation as a people who care. Complete the vision for this church to love all races, all sorts of people. Complete the vision to teach diligently, and to refuse shoddy imitations of the Gospel. Complete and do not merely end all you have undertaken, but, above all, love one another. Love one another, above all things, for if you love one another, you will soon learn to love others whom Christ wants to add to His church.
And if some of what you have done is now rubbish, because you have been too proud of it, very well. Let it be rubbish. But let us stand on the rubbish heap of past achievements, where we can see the future to which Christ calls us. Let us stand on the rubbish heap of all the things we have done, some of which failed or were lost by the wayside, and let us focus again on the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Standing on the rubbishes is in fact the place to be. For do not forget that when Christ Jesus gave His life for us, He was crucified not in a lovely sanctuary between two candles, but on a town rubbish heap between two sinners. That is where He was then; that is where He is now; and that is where He will always be. For Christ is risen, He is alive, and He is forevermore.
Some things end, but are not completed, and that is tragic. But other things are completed, but never, never end, and that is glorious indeed.
