Sunday, January 15th, 2023: "Thank God for You"
First United Presbyterian Church
“Thank God for You”
Rev. Amy Morgan
January 15, 2023
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 1:29-42
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
Dean, and other magicians, can tell you that magic requires a lot of planning and control. Especially when random audience members are involved. You have to keep people focused on certain things and make sure everything is in exactly the right position.
And sometimes, as in Dean’s magic trick, things appear to be going very wrong. What he led us to expect would happen fell through. It appeared, for a time, that the magic wasn’t working.
The apostle Paul had big plans for the church in Corinth. I imagine Paul was someone who liked to have a plan, keep people focused, make sure things were in position for when Jesus returned, which he expected would happen very soon. He had worked hard to make the magic happen in Corinth, but after he left to move on to his next missionary adventure, things got off-course pretty quickly, it seems. What Paul was expecting, and what he’d led the people of Corinth to expect, had fallen through. It appeared that the Jesus magic, where everybody loves each other and helps grow the church and they all behave themselves until Jesus gets back – that magic does not seem to be working.
Much as I sometimes bristle at Paul’s type-A personality – he’s a little bossy, a little controlling – I also recognize that I may share some of his tendencies. I like to plan ahead, keep people organized and on-track, flawlessly execute the things we attempt to do here. This fall, I was really excited about all the new folks joining and attending the church, the incredibly generous response to our stewardship campaign and all that would empower us to do in the coming year, and all the new ways we were reaching out to connect and serve with our Loveland community. I was looking forward to Advent and Christmas and all the wonderful things we’d do in that magical season.
And then, all of a sudden, things appeared to go off-track. I had to leave, and you all were left holding an empty envelope. And I imagine that for many of you, there was at least some concern that the magic wouldn’t happen. The trick was over.
But, as we witnessed in Dean’s AMAZING magic trick, even when things seem to be going terribly awry, the magician has another trick up his sleeve. The magician is still in control and everything is exactly where it’s supposed to be to pull off an even more amazing trick than we could have expected.
And that is what Paul recognizes as he begins his letter to the church in Corinth. Paul may be a little bossy and controlling, but he also realizes he is not the one holding the cards. God is the one working the magic. It is by God’s will that Paul is called to be an apostle. It is God who founded the church in Corinth and sanctifies and sustains it. It is God who has given the Corinthians the grace to be called saints, those set aside and made holy for a sacred purpose in the reign of God. It is God who has gifted the Corinthians with everything they need to do God’s work in the world. It is God who will reveal the grand finale of this cosmic magic trick, when something beyond their wildest dreams will occur. And it is God who is faithful and calls the Corinthians into the intimate and loving fellowship of Jesus Christ and those who follow him.
God is the magician here, not Paul. And so, no matter how far off-track things appear to be going in the Corinthian church, Paul can open his letter to them with the words: I give thanks to my God always for you.
Beloveds, in the past two and a half months, you all have done some incredible things. You went from an empty envelope to shockingly wondrous accomplishments. People stepped up to fill in every need, from leading morning prayer and providing pastoral care, to writing for the weekly email and sorting the mail at church. You hosted an enormous community Christmas concert, welcomed new members, increased attendance and welcomed new visitors. You balanced next year’s budget and invested Legacy Giving funds. You provided gifts for unhoused youth and put shoes on the feet of dozens of our neighbors.
As I have begun catching up on what has been going on here the last few months – in my conversations with Brent and the elders and others around the church – all I can see is magic. What you all did, what you managed to pull off – is really unbelievable. I don’t know any other church that could have done it. I really don’t. It’s incredible. It’s beyond anything I could have imagined.
And it’s become extremely clear to me that the magician is still in control. Even though I, and my family, had to step off the stage, everything was exactly where it was supposed to be. And the magic that happened here was so much better than anything I could have expected. It was a thrilling experience to come back to all this.
I recognize, as I hope you all do, that, even though I may be a little bossy and controlling, even though others stepped in to lead things and make things happen, we are not the ones holding the cards. God is the one working the magic. It is by God’s will that any of us are called to serve. It is God who founded the mission and vision of this church, and it is God who sanctifies and sustains it. It is God who has given us the grace to be called saints, those set aside and made holy for a sacred purpose in the reign of God. It is God who has gifted us with everything we need to do God’s work in the world. And it is God who has pulled off amazing wonders in the past few months and has called us to deeper love and fellowship in Jesus Christ.
And while I recognize that, I still have to say, with all my heart, as I return to ministry with you: I give thanks to my God for you. It may be the grace of God at work in this community, but my friends, I thank God for you.
I thank God for Kellie and Debby and all the ways they have advocated for me and my family and supported us and diligently and calmly worked with the Session and Presbytery through this time. I thank God for David keeping the Session business decent and in order and taking up the leadership of Building and Grounds in Jason’s absence. I thank God for Amy and Chad for leaning into their roles as worship elders to find and train more volunteers, include new people in worship, and provide everything we needed for additional Advent and Christmas services. I thank God for Mark and the amazing finance team continuing to finish out our 2023 stewardship campaign and budget and share about our Legacy Giving program and faithfully invest and manage our funds. I thank God for Celia who incorporated new folks into the mission work of the church and collected gifts and shoes and shared about Special Offerings and met emergency needs with our MEND funds. I thank God for Sherry who, even as she struggled with illness during most of my absence, managed to organize a fabulous Christmas pageant. I thank God for Sharon and Dick who stepped in to lead adult faith formation and Kathryn, Ali, and Judy who led morning prayer. I thank God for Steve and Jeannie who organized Christmas caroling and 90th birthday parties and new videos. I thank God for Susan and all the Deacons who faithfully watched over and reached out and cared for our congregation, even through sudden and very sad losses. I thank God for Sam, who helped organize worship, led that amazing Christmas concert and caroling at the Tilted Barrel, and figured out how to keep our choir sounding amazing even when half of them were out of town or sick. I thank God for Angela who kept communication flowing and worship organized. I thank God for Brent, who preached wonderful sermons and offered leadership and comfort to you all. I thank God for Michael, who kept an eye on things around the building. I thank God for Sam and Jan, who stepped in where they could to help with pastoral care. I thank God for the Wheats, who helped with Advent services and concerts.
This is like an acceptance speech where you know you’re going to forget somebody, and I’m probably not caught up enough to even know everything that everyone did so let me just say I know I have a lot more people to thank, and truly I am thankful for ALL OF YOU.
I am thankful for your prayers, your love, your cards and messages of care and support. I am thankful for what you have done for me and my family, but I am so, so thankful to God for what you have done for this church and this community we serve. I thank God for you.
There is some deep and beautiful magic here, friends. It may not always go the way we expect, but that does not mean the magic isn’t happening. The magician is at work and in control, and I expect we will see even more wondrous things as the show goes on.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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