Many years ago Mordecai Ham, the famous preacher, was getting ready to come out on stage. He was in a large auditorium because no church in town was big enough to hold the crowd. There were a couple of teenage boys that went to this church service. It was packed out and they couldn’t find a seat, so they decided to leave. But one lone usher saw those two teenage boys and he said, “Come here, guys. I’ll find you a seat.” A lot of us may feel like this usher—overworked and unappreciated, expected to make miracles happen with less. And so often we feel like everything we do just doesn’t make a difference, like we are spinning our wheels and going nowhere fast. At times, the pandemic really multiplied that feeling—decisions were being made in the school or at work or in the community, and we didn’t have a lot of say. At times, the pandemic demanded that we find solutions or make do with no solution—figure out the kids, figure out work—figure it out! Into our sense of inadequacy and meaninglessness, God speaks three words that change everything!
First, we are where we are for a reason. In our passage for today, we drop in on Peter and John in the early days of the church—and we discover they were part of the neighborhood. They know this guy who can’t walk—he’s always there. They know how he gets to that spot where he asks people for money every day. During the pandemic, many of us rediscovered our neighborhoods—going for walks, talking with neighbors—socially distanced of course—helping each other out, making sure everyone was ok. There’s a reason you live where you do—and it may be the people around you! Do you know their names, and about their life? And there’s a reason you work where you do, play where you do, take your kid to dance or sports, or go to the doctor where you do—and it just might be one of the people you find there. I know, some days you just don’t feel like it, or they seem too busy, but who knows when simple greetings, smiles, or learning people’s names open a door to being a blessing. We are where we are for a reason.
Second, look for the real need. For Peter and John, they not only know this guy who can’t walk, they know what he needs. They say, “I don’t have any money, but I’ll give you what I do have. Through the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, walk!” Friday afternoon, I went to see Doris Simmons. We had a fantastic conversation. One thing she told me was that the staff in her facility are wondering how long they can stay with a new management that is focused on the bottom line. How does she know? Because she cares about the people around her, she continues to talk with them about their lives, and she stays curious about what’s going on for them—what is it they really need? You know what? She’s praying for all the staff, and she’s praying for the management of the new company! Do we know our neighbors well enough to know how to pray for their real needs? In all of the places we go, you and I run into people all the time, and we just never know when God will give us an opportunity to hear what someone really needs.
Third, grace creates community. Peter and John are super clear that it’s not their power that did this miracle—it was the power of Jesus at work through them, and curious things happened after. One was the guy who couldn’t walk starts walking, then running then jumping and praising God, which sounds like it might have been really hilarious to watch. But his gratitude and the changes in his life? They affect everyone else who knows this guy, so much so, that Peter has to explain what Jesus has done. When we have relationships with our neighbors, and our co-workers, and the people at the store, and the people in class—and we begin to learn how to pray for them, the great news is this: Jesus is smiling because we are creating community! Oh we didn’t really mean to. We thought we were just being kind, thoughtful and curious, but suddenly it becomes clear, by helping our neighbor, we are making a better neighborhood. By being a blessing to our co-worker, we are creating a better workplace. By showing grace to someone at school or the grocery store or the playground, we are helping our community get stronger. Grace creates community!
These post-pandemic lessons are ones for our fellowship too. Rainer points out three lessons that could help us in our post-pandemic age:
Remember why we are where we are—to show Jesus’ love and grace to this community. We can and should show grace to others beyond Squantum—especially to those Jesus calls “the least of these”—but we have to get it right here.
Listening to the needs of our neighbors and our neighborhood is vitally important to the future of this church. We can only know how to show grace, when we understand the needs of the people and the neighborhood. One of the ways to do that may be offering to pray for people.
Rainer argues that the post-pandemic church has to learn that it is primarily for the community, not primarily for its members. That’s going to be hard for some of us to hear, because some of us think of the church as existing for its members. But Jesus is always focusing His grace outward—bringing wholeness, peace and joy to our lives—and hoping we will keep thinking about passing that grace on to others. Jesus wanted wholeness, peace and joy to ripple through the world. If grace creates community, then our fellowship is here to help Jesus mold and shape Squantum into a blessed community. That means all our ministries, and all our resources, find their best expression touching people’s lives with grace. How can we use our building to show grace, and help create community in Squantum?
In the post-pandemic era, we are reminded to keep our outward concern, because welcoming loving on people is the core of living out the grace of God.
So if you are feeling overwhelmed by change, like nothing you do is making a difference, consider for a moment that overworked, under-appreciated usher trying to find seats for these two teen-age boys so they can see the stage. The usher looked around in the auditorium until he found two seats right down front. That night, both those boys gave their lives to Jesus Christ because of that usher and that small act of love and kindness. One of those boys was named Billy Graham. Have you heard of him? Most of us haven’t heard of Mordecai Ham, but millions and millions of people will be in heaven because of the ministry of Billy Graham. All because of one usher taking time to promise, “We’ll find you a seat.” When he got to heaven, do you think that usher got any credit for some of Billy Graham’s ministry? Count on it! He did his part. He played his role. You never know how just a little minor seemingly insignificant thing that you do from kindness can turn the tides of history. By faith, we know we are where we are for a reason, and so we look for how God might be working. Then we do what we can now—even what seems meaningless—trusting God will bless it. By faith, we look for the real needs around us, and we love with our whole heart, knowing God will touch those we touch. By faith, we show grace to those who need it most—the lost, the last and the least, the clueless and the clued in, trusting that in our welcome, the grace of Jesus Christ will be felt. By faith, we share what we have—our time and our resources, because we know God is going to make beauty and community all around us! By faith, we become a way that our neighbors and all the people around us reconnect with the One Who longs to shower them and us with grace.