Sermons for the Month
I Just Had To Get Up Out Of My Bed!!
DATE: May 2nd, 2004
SERVICE: Fourth Sunday Of Easter
TEXT: Acts 9:36-43To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
"I had to get up out of my bed," the small, dark pastor with the bright smile stated matter-of-factly. "I had to get up out of my bed." Now, mind you, getting up out of his bed was no small thing. He had almost died. But, there was ministry to be done.
On Tuesday night at a Synod meeting I heard just a bit of Pastor Mulba Borsay's story. Pastor Borsay is from Liberia and was ordained last summer and called to be pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in East Cleveland. I do not know how it is he came to the United States or became an ELCA pastor - that's the part of his story I'm anxious to hear. But, I was moved by what he told our table about what has happened to him during the last year.
Shortly after his ordination, as he worked at a second job, he was in a frightening accident. A back hoe picked him up and slammed him against a wall. He endured collapsed lungs, massive internal injuries and a broken back. He was not expected to live, he said, and spent a number of days in a coma. While in that coma he had repeated visions of people coming from the east to Cleveland, and then to Calvary Lutheran Church. He kept asking, "Why are these people coming from New York City and Philadelphia to my neighborhood?"
Then, while he was still in bed, the vision began to be fulfilled as refugees from Liberia began finding their way to that congregation. These are not people that Pastor Borsay knew, although perhaps they heard through the grapevine that a Liberian native was pastor there. They come speaking many different dialects, most of them under the age of 25 and without resources, victims of war with no education.
Word came to Pastor Borsay that people were flocking to area and to the church and so, he said, "I had to get up out of my bed." And, in a way, so did the congregation. It was an emergency situation. Even though they did not have the needed money, they had to do ministry. Worship attendance grew from 40 to 90. A tutoring program was started. People reached out to the refugees. Whether or not Pastor Borsay, and his flock, were ready they had to "get up out of bed" because there was ministry to be done.
With a wide smile and a shake of the head Pastor Borsay noted that the congregation is going broke, a financial crisis looms every second, but there is ministry to be done. In other words, there is no rest for the faithful.
That's what I thought when I read today's lesson from Acts, and also when I head the story of Calvary Lutheran Church. There is no rest for the faithful. That was certainly true for a woman named Dorcas (or Tabitha) of today's account. The poor woman could not even die in peace.
She is described in the text as a disciple of Jesus who made an enormous impact on her community by "always doing good and helping the poor." Dorcas sewed robes and other clothing, and when she died the room was filled with mourners, very likely the same people she had helped. Upon her death the leaders of the Christians in Joppa, having heard of other deeds of power done by Peter sent for him, asking for his help.
When Peter arrived, they were having a wake. That term, wake, is one that is not familiar to all of us, although it's still in use. In the recent past, when someone died, the body was "laid out" in the home. Family members and friends then gathered for the wake, which was a watch over the dead person until the burial. Depending on the family the wake could turn into a party. But, it was usually a somber time of waiting and watching - or staying awake - until the final good-byes were said.
However, the wake being held in today's first lesson was an unusual one. None of us have ever experienced one like it. That's because Dorcas was awakened during her wake. Peter prayed over and she rose from death to life.
Please keep in mind, though, that this is NOT a resurrection, but rather a restoration. What do I mean by that? Well, she really died, and Peter's prayers brought breath into her body again. She was restored to ministry. However, she did not live forever on this earth, and some point she would die for the second time. And then, because of her faith in Jesus Christ who had defeated the power of sin, and abolished death forever, she would live eternally. But, in the meantime, she got up out of bed and resumed her good works.
In a way Pastor Borsay is like Dorcas, although he did not actually die, he was restored and had to get up out of bed to do ministry. Perhaps the same could be said of Calvary Lutheran Church. It too has experienced a restoration, and had to get up out of bed to do ministry whether or not everything was in place to do so.
Remember last week when we talked about the conversion of Paul I made the point that we never know when God will surprise us on the road, and shake us up a bit, therefore we should never get too comfortable. I bet the people of Calvary Lutheran Church would say "amen" to that.
So you know what I'm going to say next, don't you? The alarm clock is getting ready to ring. In my mind I've set it for a year from now, but who knows what God has in mind. What is the ministry that God wants us to get up out of bed to do? To whom will we open our doors? For what are we being restored?
We know whose we are. We are followers of Jesus, not just admirers. There are more and more opportunities here to grow in faith and in relationships with one another. There are enough abilities and resources and energy in this place to make a real impact on the world. This week - at 7 p.m. Monday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday - we will gather again to talk again about what God is calling us to do as his people at Faith Lutheran Church.
My friends, pray and open your hearts and your minds, so that we might continue -like those first Christians who we've been reading about in the book of Acts - to keep the Gospel alive and thriving.
I wish you could see in your mind's eye, as I can, Pastor Borsay - still wearing a body brace, thinner and more worn than he was a year ago - smiling and shaking his head, "I just had to get up out of bed." After all, there IS ministry to be done. AMEN