Jesus Fruit: Faithfulness - Matthew 24:36-51 (Wednesday Night Reflection)

How many of you remember the Dr. Seuss story of Horton the elephant who because of a commitment he made to the lazy bird, Mayzie, stayed on her egg and hatched the egg?  He was not deterred by fierce thunderstorms; he was not deterred by snow, sleet, and icicles; he was not deterred by other animals making fun of him , or missing out on fun; he was not even deterred by hunters taking aim at him; he was not deterred by a rough ride as the hunters drug him and this tree and egg off to a circus; and as people laughed at him, he continued to sit…all the time chanting his liturgy: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant…an elephant’s faithful—one hundred percent.”  A children’s story, but a story of faithfulness to one’s commitment…as Horton stayed on task to his commitment to care for the egg.

I’d like to share with you a story that is not a children’s story, but a story that exudes the same kind of committed faithfulness.

Every Sunday for nearly three years Bernie had a routine. Just before 10:00 a.m. he would open the doors to Epworth and prepare the church for worship. If the weather was cold, he would build a fire in the old wood stove. If it was hot, he would open all the windows and distribute the hand fans with a picture of Jesus on one side and an ad for a local funeral home on the other.

Next, Bernie would open the Bible located on top of the wooden pulpit and read the selected Scripture for that week. Then it would be time for prayer. Often there were folks in the community included on Bernie's list. The latest national and world news would be mentioned. But always, Bernie ended every prayer with a plea for God to remember and bless his beloved church.

Every Sunday, Bernie had a routine, but what makes this story so unique is that with very few exceptions, Bernie began and ended the Sunday morning worship service ... alone. Alone? Why? Many years ago, Epworth church was built on land donated by a neighboring farmer, but if for any reason they stopped meeting regularly, if Bernie stopped opening the church doors every Sunday, the property would revert to the original owners ... Epworth church would cease to exist.

So what is the big deal? If Bernie is the only one bothering to attend, let him go somewhere else or stay at home. Why not face the inevitable and allow Epworth to quietly disappear? What harm would it do? For Bernie, it was a big deal. God had a divine purpose for his life and for the church he loved. Bernie was patient, Bernie was faithful ... and he waited. Waited for what? ...

One Sunday morning a young family, new to the area, visited Epworth and after meeting Bernie joined him in worship. They found something unique about this little church nestled among the trees and the old man who faithfully opened her doors. On the following Sunday they came back and within a few weeks the children were bringing friends. At year's end a minister was hired.

Today, Epworth is a small family church situated between several farms and hidden among the trees. Every summer they offer vacation Bible school for the neighborhood and each Christmas is celebrated with a pageant performed by the children. Many of the original family have died and some of the children have moved away, but the miracle of Epworth has never been forgotten.

This past Sunday, Epworth celebrated its 107^th Homecoming, people come from across the United States, some families from as far away as Texas and California, to visit the church of their youth and relive the miracle of the old man who refused to let his beloved church die. For over 100 years, Homecoming worship has been followed by a picnic on the church grounds. While the children are playing, and the adults are eating, you may notice a family wandering over to the nearby cemetery. If you listen carefully, you'll hear a parent telling her child, "Let me tell you a story about Bernie....”

My brothers and sisters, the fictitious story Horton and the real story of Bernie are stories of faithfulness…a faithfulness to the house of God…a faithfulness to God.  Faithfulness is the seventh aspect of Jesus Fruit, or Fruit of the Spirit, that comes when we abide in the True Vine…when we abide in Christ as Christ abides in us. We began with “Love” acknowledging that “love” is the key to all of the other fruits, for without a love of God and love of our neighbor, then anything we do is worthless.  We looked at the need for our lives to reflect “joy” and “peace”.  We considered the importance of exhibiting “patience,” “kindness,” and “generosity.”  Now we need to come to an understanding that if we are abiding in the True Vine, which is Christ Jesus our Lord, and He is abiding in us, then among the qualities that our lives display with Jesus Fruit is “faithfulness.”

The Disciples had come to the Mount of Olives, a place where Jesus regularly prayed, and begged him to tell them about “the end of days,” about the day when the Messiah would come in power and this world as we know it would come to an end.  Jesus began sharing with them the signs that would be evident when “the Age to Come” would be “the Age arriving.”  Jesus talked about wars, famines, and earthquakes.  Jesus talked of a time when believers would be arrested, tortured, and put to death for their faith.  Jesus warned of false prophets and false messiahs attempting to lead the believers astray.  Jesus talked about the sun being darkened, the moon not giving light, the stars falling from heaven.  Jesus shared the lesson of the fig tree.  And after all this, we get to our reading we heard this morning.  After giving all of those warning signs, Jesus says, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  Jesus says the day will come and it will catch everyone by complete surprise, so be ready.

Then Jesus asks, “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time?  Blessed is that slave whom his mater will find at work when he arrives.  Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.  But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him…He will cut him off and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be a weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The words of Jesus and the stories of Horton and Bernie are calls to faithfulness, calls to staying on task to the vows we have made to God.

My brothers and sisters, during our series over the last few months we have had one baptism and three reaffirmations of faith as well as a congregational reaffirmation of faith.  During those parts of the service, we, as members of this congregation, renewed the vows we made at our profession of faith or our Baptism.   As we stop to consider faithfulness, we need to consider how we are staying on task with the vows we have made to God.  What are those vows?

We have promised to:

·         renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin…

·         accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves…

·         confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the Church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races…

·         remain faithful members of Christ's holy Church and serve as Christ's representatives in the world…

·         faithfully participate in this congregation’s ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness…

Can we like Horton say, “We said what we meant, and we meant what we said, God’s people are faithful one hundred percent”?

Are we faithful in renouncing the spiritual forces of wickedness, rejecting evil, and repenting of our sin, or do we try and make excuses for our behavior and the behavior of others?

Are we faithful in accepting the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression, or do we say “we can’t help it” when it comes to our own sin or “we don’t’ want to get involved” when it comes to addressing sin outside of ourselves?  Or worse yet, do we turn a blind eye to injustice and oppression because we are indirectly benefitting from it?

Are we faithful in confessing Jesus Christ as our Savior and putting our whole trust in his grace, or do we live in anxiety and look for salvation elsewhere?

Are we faithful in serving Jesus Christ as our Lord, or do we allow other things to take the place of our serving God with all our being?

Are we faithful regardless of what comes along, because like the trials of Horton or the loneliness of Bernie, we will go through the same things as followers of Christ…we will feel alone…we will go through storms…we will be made fun of…and, as Jesus says, we may even be persecuted, arrested, and put to death if we faithfully live out our vows to Him!

Do we have the faithful commitment that Horton had to that little egg despite all that came upon him?

Do we have the unwavering belief and constant loyalty that Bernie had as he attended to what God had set before him? 

Can we stay focused on what God has set before us, regardless of how bleak it may seem? 

Think of the reward Horton had as a little “elephant-bird” hatched out of the egg and went off with him.

Think of how God turned Epworth around and blessed many lives through the faithfulness of Bernie.

Consider how, then, God can take our faithfulness and bless that many more lives, as they come into a new relationship with Jesus Christ.

For those whose faithfulness fails, they will be cast off and forgotten…but for those who remain faithful to God, for those who remain true to God’s Word, no matter how rough the life and how long it takes, will one day hear a voice saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.