Please note: The following sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.

I have never been a great fan of 10-year plans for ministry. 

That is the kind of thing that is recommended in the organization manuals, but it seems to me is completely out of touch with the pace of life today. 

Things change, and change ever more quickly.

For example, we’ve discovered that because language usage changes, we have to keep at the job of translating the Bible, in order for the message to remain the same. 

I know that sounds strange, but it is true. 

The meaning of words shifts, so in order to maintain the same meaning, we need to find different words to carry the same meaning that the older words did.

But this is true not just in that area, but also in every other area of our life as Christians in a hectic world.

In order to keep presenting the same truth of the joy of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus in what we say and do, some of our words and methods have to be adjusted.

I know that these days I am heavily engaged in several activities that had not even crossed my mind four years ago.

They could not have been on a 10-year plan for me.

But this is not really a new phenomenon; the pace may be faster, but the observation is the same.

We are, after all, engaged in work not of our own invention.

Christ sends his Holy Spirit to nudge us, urge us, or maybe sometimes smack us upside the head to get going in another direction…just as he did with the apostle Paul.

In the verses just prior to our First Lesson today, we find Paul lay out his scheme for working his way through central Turkey to solidify or establish the Gospel in those towns.

But the Holy Spirit had other plans, in other directions.

When he reaches western Turkey, Paul has a vision, in which a man of Macedonia begs “Come over and help us.”

This is the northern part of the Greek homeland, so to travel there takes Paul farther and farther away from his home-base and friends.

Indeed, it is not only another country, it is on another continent, where he had not yet been at all.

And so Paul lays aside his plan, and goes where no Christian has gone before.

When we catch up with him today, he is entering an especially difficult town.

Philippi had risen and fallen several times, but at this point in its history had been re-established as a thoroughly Roman colony far from Rome.

It was a pleasant locale where Roman soldiers might like to retire.

All east—west traffic went right past it on one of the famous Roman roads, the Egnatian Way.

It had become a busy commercial place.

It was a place of business, not a place for philosophers and thoughtful religious types.

It may be a stereotype, but in this case it happens to be true; Jewish people tended to live where trading was going on.

So there were some Jewish folk quietly living in this Roman town.

It was his usual practice for Paul to go to the local synagogue when he got to a new city, but there may have been no synagogue here because of its being a very Roman town.

So he has to change tactics and go where the people are.

In this case, it is about a half-mile west of town where the road crosses the creek.

 Paul guessed correctly that they gathered at creek-side, where they could use the flowing water for their rites of purification whether or not they had a synagogue or any other structure.

And in the ensuing encounter, Paul breaks  a number of the usual ways of doing things.

He meets and talks with women in public, often a social no-no.

Someone seeing him might conclude that he is looking for a prostitute! He takes that risk.

The woman with whom he speaks most effectively is not even a Jew, but a Gentile who is listening and learning about Judaism .

They are often termed “God-fearers.”

Because of her earnest study and the rapid warming of her heart by the Holy Spirit, it appears that the catechumenate was rather short, and she and her household were baptized.

If someone else had been in charge, it might have been said that we need to be more careful; we can't just let in anybody to this fellowship.

Economic status doesn't mean anything to Paul. He speaks with rich and poor alike.

To be wealthy is not seen by Paul as an impediment, but rather as an added responsibility to use and manage those resources well.

It means that Lydia has the opportunity and space to offer her home as a base of operations for Paul and the fledgling Christian community.

What a wonderful thing that is!

In the following verses which we will hear as our First lesson next Sunday, Paul is arrested, beaten, humiliated, and jailed.

In the night when he is miraculously loosened from his bonds, he uses this strange opportunity to speak with the jailer, and through the preaching of the Gospel welcomes him and his family to the faith.

Throughout this story, we see and hear how Paul is willing to lay aside his prior ideas and take up new ones in the name of the Lord Jesus.

He crosses social boundaries; he works with people he did not expect to reach:

--women

--Jews

--non-Jews investigating Judaism

--Roman people of importance

--Roman functionaries

It is a bit dizzying in its complexity and variety to follow all of these new relationships that developed because Paul was willing to follow the Spirit's lead into new ventures.

We are very prudent people.

We take Jesus' admonition about “counting the cost” to mean that anything expensive is to be avoided.

That is a misapplication of the verse.

Rather, to “count the cost” is to recognize that the things that will advance the Gospel Good News may be very costly indeed, but well-worth that cost.

So our proper question is:

            How is this expenditure of time, money and skill opening up the possibility of Good News for someone else today?

In this week as we read through the Annual Report booklet in preparation for next week's Assembly, we can notice that the report of each committee is prefaced by a purpose statement that begins: The purpose of the (whatever) committee is to proclaim Jesus Christ to each other and to all the world by....

Something that cannot properly help to finish that sentence is something that is not central to our purpose as the church.

Our Annual Report tends to be merely a review of what has been done in the past, a good thing as far as it goes.

It would be a more helpful document if in it we could make a shift and focus equally on what new ideas and approaches to Gospel proclamation have we stumbled upon and that we ought to investigate and perhaps adopt.

Jane Larson was surprised which I approached her a dozen years ago and suggested that Stephen Ministry might be an effective path of service for her.

Bob Schultz and Mel Wentzel were each in turn surprised when I asked them to lead the adult catechumenate, and what a blessing that has been.

Dustin was asked and took his first turn as a table-server this week, and did very well, helping to fulfill the joy of being together in Jesus' name.

I was surprised when Carlos Saldivia our media advisor urged me to film some of my reflections on the Gospel of Mark and other portions of scripture.

I wasn't expecting it, but what an interesting new direction it is.

I went to a pastors' meeting one day more than three years ago with no particular expectation, but was struck by the possibilities of Family Promise as Pr. Davidson and other visitors spoke of it.

Now very shortly we're going to have the opportunity of living out the hospitality of the Gospel in a very different way right here in our own building.

What a surprise this whole thing has been!

The commission in Matthew 28 to “make disciples” is not only aimed at pastors or church councils, but at each and every Christian.

So, what old, or new!, action are each of us going to do this year, this week, this day, in order for each of us to be joining in the work of “making disciples”?

Some time back a person told me, “I don't know anyone who isn't a church-member.”

I really have my doubts that is true, but if it is true, then I guess our advice to that person is “go meet more people.”!

Just the other day a person was talking with me about the God-shaped hole in her friends' lives.

Recognizing those holes is the first step in proclaiming the Good News that can fill them.

So, let each of us  take that sentence from the Annual Report and apply it to our own situation:

The purpose of my life is to proclaim Jesus Christ to each other and to all the world by.... 

and open our ears and eyes to all the possible great ways to finish the sentence.

Amen.

St. Mark's Lutheran Church

142 Market Street

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

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