A NEW PLOT IN LIFE
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Good News: Every one of us is important to Jesus.


There is a story quoted in baseball circles about Earl Weaver (when he was manager of the Baltimore Orioles) and his experience with a born-again outfielder named Pat Kelly. As the story goes, Kelly is said to have told Weaver he had learned to walk with God, to which Weaver is reported to have replied, “I’d rather have you walk with the bases loaded.” The Christian walk is incomprehensible to those who are not motivated by Christ.

Trouble in the Bible

For the apostles, the bases might have been loaded, yet there was still an empty spot on the roster—they had eleven men instead of 12, the number Jesus had originally chosen. They figured they needed to get their numbers back up to twelve. Twelve is an important number in the Bible: 12 sons of Jacob, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples of Jesus, and the 12 thrones in heaven. Eleven would never work.

Yet, 120 people were smooshed into this “upper room.” How were they to choose one person from that number to replace Judas? Who was qualified? Who would do it? I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I would want to be known as the one who replaced the guy who betrayed the Savior of the world to the Romans. We all know what happened to him in the place affectionately known as “Murder Meadow.”

Time between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost was 10 days. Two hundred forty hours of living like sardines and watching each other grow old called for a desperate act—the formation of a church nominating committee and a church election. . It seemed a good idea to hold a committee meeting, as any church would do, while they awaited further instruction from Jesus. They had not heard the prophecy that “God so loved the world that he didn’t send a committee.”

Trouble in the World

We often have a difficult time dealing with waiting. When we don’t see something happening, we assume nothing is happening. Perhaps we even feel that Jesus is ignoring us or has forgotten us, that we are not important to him. This concept is one idea we must never believe. Each one of us is as important to Jesus as if we were the only person on earth.

Jesus is at work in our lives all the time, but silence and/or perceived inaction makes us very antsy. If the wait becomes unbearable, we may wander into the territory of thinking He is telling us one thing because that is what we want to or expect to hear, Sometimes we choose to hear the safe thing, which soothes our nerves but does little to witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

A middle-aged farmer who had been desiring for years to be an evangelist was out working in the field one day when he decided to rest under a tree. As he looked into the sky he saw that the clouds seemed to form into the letters P and C. Immediately he jumped up, sold his farm, and went out to P-reach C-hrist, which he felt was God’s leading. Unfortunately, he was a horrible preacher. After one of his sermons, a neighbor came forward and whispered in his ear, “are you sure God wasn’t just trying to tell you to P-lant C-orn?

Jesus had the farmer right where he wanted him, planting corn. Yet, the farmer seemed to think that planting corn was not important enough so he sold the field of purpose for a field of dreams. He did not know how important he already was to Jesus. He did not recognize that he already had all the gifts he needed to serve Jesus. He was a planter and a harvester for the Lord, not a preacher. No one job in the kingdom is more important than another. No one job in the church is more important than another, but all jobs, gifts, pursuits in a church are to witness to the Resurrection.

If churches today used this criterion for planning its future, what are we doing today as a church today that we might keep doing and what might we eliminate from our pursuits? Each one of us is important to Jesus and each one of us has an important role to pursue in his church.


God’s Grace in the Bible

The gifts to be an apostle were already gathered in that upper room. Peter listed the requirements: (1) The new apostle must believe in the resurrection, for the resurrection is the one thing that defines Christianity from all other religions. (2) The new apostle must know Jesus as a result of living with Jesus. (3) The new apostle, in traveling all the days with Jesus and the other eleven, must be able to work with the remaining apostles.

By these requirements, two names came to mind: Joseph/Barsabas/Justus and Matthias. Matthias was chosen, but I want you to notice HOW he was chosen. Matthias met the proper requirements of an apostle, but requirements were not enough. Something more was needed. In fact, two more steps were necessary before Matthias would be confirmed to his new position.

The next steps in the process included (1) Prayer. “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of the two YOU have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place” (Acts 1:25); and (2) casting lots to determine which man would become number 12. Matthias, of course, “won.”

Very, very little is known of Matthias, and even less exists to testify to his work. His physical gospel has been lost, but we do have a few of his quotations preserved in the works of Clement of Alexandria.

“We must combat our flesh, set no value upon it, and concede to it nothing that can flatter it, but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge.”

Is Matthias not testifying to the supreme importance of the Christian’s heart and soul? A place was chosen for Matthias, but what about Barsabas?

Was Barsabas left out? How do you suppose he felt? Maybe he knew the disappointment that so many of us experience when we are turned down for the prized position we’ve worked so hard to get. In an age of terrifying unemployment rates, how does one keep going after being rejected time after time? Many are driven to near hopelessness, while others have the faith to keep going, keep searching.

God’s Grace in the World

Each one of us is important to Jesus, and each one of us has an important role to pursue in Jesus’ church, and so we must be ready for a new plot in life. This new plot is of Christ’s own choosing. We make ourselves ready for the journey by preparing our hearts and souls through faith and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

None of us knows enough about Jesus, yet he knows everything about us. Why does he bother to know everything about us? The answer is so simple, because each of us is important to him—he wants to know everything about us; and because he knows everything about us—he knows our hearts—he will choose the best P-lot in life for us, Whether that plot includes preaching Christ or planting corn, He has a place for us.

If we are uncertain about which direction to go, we can pray as the apostles prayed: “Lord, you know my heart. Show me the path you have chosen for me to take in this ministry.”

That’s a scary prayer for many folks, and fear is a reason we miss out on so much of life that God wants to show us. We want to be careful what we pray for because we just might get it! What if we get a sign to go somewhere or do something we don’t feel we are ready for? Then what are we supposed to do?

Two words: GET READY! You see, the thing about Barsabas is that even though he was not chosen this time to fill the twelfth spot, he was READY to do so. He knew that Jesus had a role for him to play in his resurrection witnessing. He knew he was just as important to Jesus as any of the other 120 folks in the upper room; he knew he was just as important as any of the eleven, and he knew he was just as important as Matthias. He may not have been given the title of “apostle,” yet, He kept himself ready to serve the resurrected Lord. We can take from the experience of being “not chosen this time” that we must always keep ourselves ready to do what Jesus needs us to do.

Friends, we do not get our importance from fancy titles; we are already important. Our titles may inform others of what role we play in the church, but they do not confer any special powers or privileges. They do not give us worth; we are already worthy.

· We do not need to be called a missionary in order to witness and show hospitality to strangers.
· We do not have to be a trustee to care for the facility.
· We do not need to be a choir member to sing a new song.
· We do not need to be a preacher to tell somebody about how good the Lord is, and that the He loves us for all time.
· We do not have to be an usher to welcome somebody into the house of God.
· You do not have to be on the Christian Ed Committee to teach someone about Jesus and his love for us.
· You do not have to be a deacon to show compassion and loving concern to others.

Rather than seeking a title or special position, I think it is better for us to understand ourselves as Jesus does: a person so important to him that he would go to the cross, die and be resurrected for us, even if we were the only person on earth.

When we leave here today, we can go out and walk with the bases loaded, or we can go out and walk with Jesus. The difference in the walks is mighty. With the first you score five runs, maybe slap a few hands as you round the bases and stamp your foot on home plate. With the second, you’re found ready and willing to hit it out of the park. People are instantly on their feet—are they cheering for you? Oh, no! They’re praising the Lord because you have testified to his power at work in you. That power is offered to all who are ready to step up to bat.

Those who step up to bat are given titles, but they do not mean very much in the world today. They offer no privilege, no power, no entitlement. Yet, in the church, in our faith, they mean the world to us:

· Jesus has titled us “Witness”: And you shall be my witnesses… (Luke 24:48)
· Jesus has titled us “Friend”: And I have called you friends… (John 15:15)
· And God has titled us “Beloved”: “You are my Beloved…” (Luke 3:21-22)

Beloved, let us love one another; let us discover how important we are to Jesus and express it to others, that they, too, may be given a new plot in life, a life built on Jesus Christ, for this is the true calling and purpose of the Church. Amen.

May 24, 2009
The First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise