"Steps of a Disciple: Rekindling the Gift"
2 Timothy 1: 1-14 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
World Communion Sunday
October 2, 2016
To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us. - 2 Timothy 1: 1-14
Everyone knew her as Mimi. And if you were invited into her home she quickly became your Mimi too. Mimi’s gift was hospitality. She loved to make things special for others. If you needed a safe place to stay for just one night or even two weeks, she opened her spare bedroom and home for you. If you were recovering from a hospital visit, she would be at your front door with a casserole. If she heard that you had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving, then a place was set at her table for you. There was always room for an extra seat at Mimi’s table!
When Mimi’s car was in the driveway, her door was always open because she wanted folks to drop by. Mimi wanted people to come inside, and tell her about what was going on in life.
One day I was at Mimi’s house. As I sat at her table I noticed her Bible sitting open-faced on the kitchen counter. It was worn and written through and highlighted. And she had such a gift not just helping others feel welcomed, but she prayed for each one that sat at her table. Sometimes she would pray with a person who needed some encouragement, right then and there. Other times she would pray by herself for those whom God placed in her presence.
Mimi had open hands, an open heart, and she was always ready to listen. Her smile brightened up the most dreary day. But more than anything – her loving presence, her sage wisdom and her deep faith gave you renewed hope in the world. We all learned something special from Mimi about the ways God weaves faith and love through the ordinary and broken places of life.
The Apostle Paul says that Timothy had a Mimi too. Her name was Lois. And Paul remembers those cherished conversations that Timothy had shared about his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Paul recalls the sincere faith he had seen in Timothy for these women made such an impression upon him. The faith Timothy’s family had modeled for him was authentic and genuine with a wholeheartedness to serve the Lord with grace and compassion.
As Paul’s words paint a picture of a true gift being shared through at least three generations, we can hear how important faith, hope and love are within Timothy’s family - the connection of faith, the hope found in relationships, and God’s love as it is received and extended. And Paul knows how important these are in order for God to weave the threads of faith into the fabric of our daily lives. So Paul reminds Timothy to rekindle the gift of God that is within him.
I love Paul’s tender words as a spiritual mentor to young Timothy and to us. These words encourage us to remember the stories that have been passed down through our family, through friends, through our Mimi’s and through our spiritual ancestors in Scripture. For these stories remind us of a divine love that will never let us go. God’s love gives us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline in the midst of our angst and tears for a broken world.
In order to feel that strength of identity, purpose and hope we, too, need to rekindle the gift. We need to fan the flames and allow the Spirit to breathe new life into the embers of our faith. The hope is for us to rekindle the gift not just to regain God’s strength in our times of weakness, but also to continue sharing the gift of faith through open hands and hearts with our sisters and brothers in Christ.
The Rev. Dr. Hugh Thompson Kerr was moved by the notion of tables as a place to encounter love and hospitality. As he considered the ways that encouragement and inspiration flow from a table much like a kitchen table, he could not help but remember the power which comes from the Lord’s Table to nurture us.
In 1933 Dr. Kerr served as pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Together with the church’s Stewardship team, Dr. Kerr envisioned World Communion Sunday. The vision was to bring churches together around the Lord’s Table as a reminder of the connection that holds us all by those three threads of faith, hope, and love.
Dr. Kerr’s son, Dr. Donald Craig Kerr (also a Presbyterian minister), shared that back in the early 1930’s no one really gave it a lot of thought. But that all changed when World War Two began. He said “It was during the Second World War that the spirit caught hold, because we were trying to hold the world together. World Wide Communion Sunday symbolized the effort to hold things together, in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we are one in the Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
What began as a Presbyterian tradition was adopted through the National Council of Churches and is observed globally across denominational lines.
God’s House is a safe place to find rest for our weary spirits. God’s hospitality embraces us so that we may experience God’s abundant mercy in our time of need. In the center of God’s House is a big Table where there is always room to pull up another chair. There is always a feast ready at the Table where plates are heaping with God’s grace and the cups are filled with compassion. And let me tell you, God’s grace tastes so good!
This feast nourishes and encourages us as we remember the stories of God walking beside God’s people.
God – like a mother hen who wraps her warm and protective wings around her brood of chicks to guide them by the right road.
God – like a father who is filled with nothing less than compassion, forgiveness, and second chances when his daughters and sons come home from the wayward journeys of life.
God – like a wounded healer who knows the scars on our knees and our hearts and tenderly mends our broken places both inside and out.
There is room at this Table to share our stories today of all the good we celebrate in the world and of all that burdens us. And at this Table God draws near to us with sighs too deep for words. God prays for us to strengthen us by the life, ministry, and sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. God rekindles the embers of this gift of faith by breathing the Holy Spirit upon us, in us and among us so that we may experience new life.
At this Table we are reminded that we are blessed by the ties of faith, hope, and love which bind us together globally as one great family of faith. God created us to be tethered by relationships with God and one another through this gift of faith. As our spirits mature and grow we find hope in the relationships that shape us into a beloved community.
Our passion for God’s Love is strengthened each time we receive the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation. And from this Table we are sent out into the world to share God’s hospitality. We do that by joining God in this holy work of loving one another as God already loves us, for if we do this everyone will know that we are Christ’s disciples (John 13:34-35).
So welcome to God’s House. Let us take the next steps of a disciple as we rekindle this amazing gift by telling the story of God’s Love once again…for God’s story is rewriting ours as we see and taste God’s amazing grace.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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