Aiming Past the Target - Being missional community

Gate Pa – Pentecost 13

(23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year A)

Readings:

Psalm:                                     Psalm 149

First Reading:                         Exodus 12:1-14                       

Second Reading:        Romans 13:8-14                                 

Gospel:                        Matthew 18:15-20     

What I want to say:

I want to use these readings to explore the notion of missional community – being a community that by the way we live for each other and the people of our local community, especially the least, we shout of God’s presence in the world. I want to use Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks by August Turak to think about what are the targets we aim for and how they limit us and prevent us being such a missional community.

What I want to happen:

How does out life as St. George shout of God’s presence to the people around us? How do our hopes limit us and prevent us making such a noise?

The Sermon

       1.     Introduction:

Things most grateful for from youth ministry – missional community

-         community willing to discern work of God in world, and to have grace join that work (mission)

-         community that by the values on which the community stands and how they are lived out,

o   the way we live for each other

o   and the people of our local community, especially the least,

ð we shout of God’s presence in the world.

today’s readings are all about being a missional community.

so what can we learn?

     2.     Sense of Identity through Foundational Story

what heard today is liturgy – forms the foundational story – Jewish people

story of exodus recalled every Passover in the reading and interpretation from Deuteronomy 26:5-8

            – My father was a wandering Aramean –

in this story - roots Jewish identity

we were slaves in Egypt

God heard our cry for help

we became people of God, and God became our God

God rescued us from slavery and brought us to promised land

story retold and reinterpret throughout Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)

story still shapes Jewish identity today

what then is our foundational story?

how does that shape our identity – our sense of who we are?

     3.     Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks by August Turak

recently reading

Augy – wealthy entrepreneur, consultant,

spent significant amounts time at Mepkin Abbey – Benedictine Abbey, of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance; (Trappists) in Berkeley County, South Carolina. US.

book product reflecting on Cistercian life and how that affected business practice

how that can be applied to secular business

my question is – can it be applied to church setting

in book makes case that every person wants transformation

businesses can offer that through principles of selflessness and service.

chapter just read talks about importance of community

            seems weird thing business writer talking about.

case study company helped start up – grew out Friday night Zen group

bunch people wanted apply what learning to business world.

key feature of this was community

uses words like honesty

            commitment

            compassion.

seems to me that that is exactly what Paul letter to Romans,

            and Jesus addressing early church through Matthew’s gospel are talking about.

commitment is about playing your role

            pulling your weight

interestingly, compassion isn’t just to individual, but to whole community.

e.g. – one sales reps father dying – needed time off – which gave

            remission – returned

            got sick again – she asked more time off and he said no

            people upset

what about compassion

told them could not afford lose ¼ sales revenue any more

only way happen if everyone else picked up slack

compassion has a price

and is two way thing

in end whole team picked up slack and all happened

all happened because they were committed to each other

all happened because people were honest

             didn’t gossip and complain

            talked Augey about decision

            together they worked it out.

Paul says that love is what undergirds our dealings with each other

not right processes – easily read Matthews gospel as providing

but love

out of that love we learn to treat each other well

selflessly

serving each other with honesty

            commitment

            compassion

Does that describe us?

how do we need to grow to be more deeply shaped by this love?

     4.     Aim beyond the target

Another concept he talks about is aiming beyond the target.

companies suggests often focus on bottom lines

            profit margins

            share market

            best provider of that service

in contrast offers Apple

which was very small player computer market until Steve Jobs came back

until then aimed increase share computer sales

Jobs aimed past that

change people’s lives

offer them technology to help that happen

created iPod – small device store most music on listen to while out about

(until then portable cd and tape devices)

created iPhone – easy use smart phone access internet on

created iPad – easy use device easily transportable people on move

created cloud computing – allowed all devices talk to each other

Apple no longer small computer company surviving off crumbs Microsoft‘s table

The major player technology world

worth most any company - history

what Jobs did was aim beyond the target.

wasn’t interested in share of computer sales

that just got in the way

blinded Apple to what was really important

kept them small.

Jobs had vision

            wanted change lives

            wanted provide technology allow that to happen

            profit margins and sales came with that

            were not the goal

     5.     Our targets?

what are our targets?

what is it that we hope for, aim for in this parish?

how do they prevent us being who we should be?

My hope for us is that we will be a missional community

-         community willing to discern work of God in world, and to have grace join that work (mission)

-         community that by the values on which the we stand and how they are lived out,

ð the way we live for each other

ð and the people of our local community, especially the least,

ð we shout of God’s presence in the world.

large attendances would be great

vibrant youth group and Sunday schools - look awesome on my cv

healthy budget mean Paula vestry and I sleep better at night

need to aim past them

with luck some those might happen as we go

maybe all them

not the point

today reading offer us glimpse what means to be people God in this place

pray have courage embrace vision

so that we continue to become community faith that shouts of God’s presence with everything we do