IT'S GOOD TO SHOW UP - Nov. 09, 2008
Matthew 25:1-13
We had a great high school football game next door at Leilehua High School last night. It was good weather, a great night to be out under the stars, and I know there were a lot of fans out supporting their team because our parking lot was full, and there were cars parked for several blocks away along the street.
I heard a lot of cheering; it must have been an exciting game because there was a lot of cheering -- it would be quiet for a while, then a loud roar from the crowd would go up, & the band played. It was a championship game, for 3rd place.
It brought back memories of my high school days, when I played in the band. I lived in Venice, Florida, so the weather was warm there, too, so the evenings were much like last night. My cousin played Ray on the football team, and as I remember he was the quarterback. Now, we were a small school, and we didn't have a winning team most years because we played many schools five times our size, but we always had great school spirit.
I remember after one football game, I was walking out of the stadium and saw my Aunt Marie & Uncle Ray walking out. I remembering wondering why they had come -- my parents never came to the games -- why were they there?
Well, now I know. They had come to see their son, my cousin Ray, play football. They had come to support him and the team. They had come because they cared about him. Because they showed up at the game, Ray knew that they were behind him, and supported him and what he was doing. They could have told him they thought he was a great kid. They could have told him that they were proud of him. They could have told him that they wanted him to play hard and do his best. They could have told him they thought he did a super job, win or lose. I'm sure they told him all those things. Words are good, but showing up at the game gave extra meaning to those words, and made the words come alive.
Now, I realize we can't do everything -- we do have limits on our time and our energy. Sometimes our physical health prevents us from showing up, and we do have to be practical and use our common sense -- but what we do, and where we show up, is living proof of our values and our priorities.
The theme for this morning is our presence -- showing up. Our presence shows what we care about. Our presence shows what is important to us. Our presence gives "oomph" and validity and credibility to our words. Along with our prayers, our gifts and our service, it's what we do to support our church. It's good to show up, and we miss out on a lot if we're not here.
Showing up at church is a high priority for me, and not just because I am the pastor of the church. It was a high priority for my family when I was growing up (they may not have attended football games, but we always went to church as a family), and it was a high priority for me in college and as a young adult. I value what I learned and experienced as I showed up on Sunday mornings and for Youth Group, all those years.
When we examine the scriptures with "presence" in mind, we find that Jesus had to "show up" in order to do his ministry.
First, Jesus "showed up" at church. (Luke 2:41-52 & 4:14-30)
Luke gives us the story of Jesus "showing up" in the temple, when he was twelve years old. It is a story that establishes Jesus' love of being at church, listening and asking questions. Jesus was so involved and absorbed, focused on what he was doing that he missed going back to Nazareth with his parents -- a case of parental oversight that apparently never happened again.
Luke also gives us the story of Jesus beginning his ministry in the temple in Nazareth. Jesus was like our liturgist, and read the scripture of the day -- Isaiah 61:1-2, which begins "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news . . .", then saying, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus not only was present in the synagogue, he chose the synagogue to give his inauguration speech -- to declare that he was the one sent to preach good news.
Yes, Jesus "showed up" at church.
Jesus also "showed up" at family celebrations and events. (John 2:1-11)
In the gospel of John, Jesus, his mother and all the disciples had been invited to a wedding, and Jesus too time to attend -- he was present at the wedding. Now, a wedding celebration was an important event in village life, and when the party was in danger of ending too soon because the wine was running out, at his mother's urging Jesus helps keep the celebration going by turning water into wine -- the best wine of all!
It was at this family and village wedding celebration that we are given this first sign of Jesus' glory, and we are told that it was then that Jesus' disciples put their faith in him.
Yes, Jesus "showed up" at family celebrations.
Jesus "showed up" many places, just a few of which are:
Zacheus' house, where he invited himself to dinner,
Mary and Martha's house, again for dinner,
Levi's tax booth, where Jesus called him to be a disciple,
Levi's house, once again for dinner,
Pool of Bethesda, where he healed a crippled man,
Temple in Jerusalem, where he saw the crippled man he healed at Bethesda and told him to stop sinning, and where he threw out the money changers,
Sea of Galilee, where Jesus' called the disciples, calmed the storm and walked on the water,
Capernaum, where Jesus had a house and received many visitors,
And, of course, Bethlehem, where Joseph and Mary "showed up" at the stable,
and Jerusalem, where Jesus "showed up" for the Passover feast, and for the cross.
My favorite story about showing up is about the little boy, six or seven years old, who had started playing on a soccer team several years before. He already had several trophies which the family proudly displayed in the living room, and when his family had guests one of them asked the little boy about the trophies.
"My, you must be a great soccer player to have so many trophies at your age."
"Nope," said the boy. "Sometimes I don't even get to play."
"Well, then, you must have a winning team."
"Nope," said the boy.
"How did you get the trophies?"
"I showed up," said the boy.
"You showed up?" asked the incredulous friend.
"Yep" said the boy. "If you show up to the games, you get a trophy. Some of the kids didn't show up, so they didn't get a trophy. I showed up."
As good stewards of the church, we bring our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service.
We "show up," focused, ready to play the game.
We "show up," because we need one another, and we need the support and love that we both give and receive. We miss out if we don't show up.
We "show up," ready to receive the blessings of God -- which are better than a trophy.
Our presence is important -- your presence is important -- and "showing up" is good.
Amen
Pastor Fran
