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Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight
and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race
that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter
of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the
throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against
himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding
your blood. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses
you as children-- "My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the
Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; 6 for the Lord
disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he
accepts." 7 Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is
treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not
discipline?
There is a story
about a busy man who was walking to an appointment in a major city. While
walking he encountered a man on the corner, beaten up, down on his luck who had
the biggest smile he had ever seen. He could not get that smile out of his mind
so he turned around and went up to the man. “How is it, that you, obviously
homeless, have such a big smile?” The man replied, “Because I have Jesus.” The businessman
scoffed, turned, and walked away. But hour after hour, day after day, the businessman
could not get the man’s comment nor his smile out of his head. What is it about
Jesus that could cause a homeless man to smile so? He picked up a copy of the
Bible, had never opened it before and began to read. He was fascinated by the
Old Testament stories and the prophets made him ponder. But the New Testament
stories of Jesus were incredible. Suddenly he wanted to know more so he visited
a church and talked with the Pastor. In time, he gave his life to Jesus. As it
was, he happened to be in the city again on business and he sought out the man
on the corner. He was still there and smiling. So he told him his story and the
old man smiled even more. If my smile brings people to Jesus he said, then I am
doing what Jesus wants me to do. The ripple effect of witnessing.
Today we come to
celebrate All Saints day. It is a day when we remember those who have gone on
before us. Several weeks ago, Brian Brown shared with us the ripple effect. As
chair of the Board of Discipleship each year it is my honor to recognize those
whose evangelism and witness have made a difference. The award is called the
Harry S. Denman award. Harry was a great evangelist. But he was not always that
way. Harry traveled as part of his work and one night, late, he arrived at the
hotel tired. His desire was to go to bed and so he stepped to the desk and
checked in. He remarked that he felt this overwhelming call to talk to the
young man that night but he was tired and worn out. He said later, he could not
sleep that night with the overwhelming feeling that he should have talked with
that young man. So the next morning he went to the desk and inquired about the
young man. He was told that the young man had taken his life in the wee hours
of the morning. Harry was so broken about that and his unwillingness to talk to
the young man the night before, that he swore that he would never miss the
opportunity to reach out in witness ever again. The ripple effect.
I have often
wondered how many times we have an opportunity to create a ripple. In this
world of fast moving people, encountering people from all over the world, how
much a ripple my actually make in the world around us. What if a little act of
random kindness to a complete stranger caused that stranger to do an act of
random kindness to another stranger and so on? How many lives might be changed
with one little smile. How many people might have lives impacted if someone shared
with them the love of Jesus. Someone said to me the other day that my sermons
reach back to ancient times. That somehow they are not modern. It was meant to
be derogatory but I took it as a compliment. If we spend our lives living the
ways the early disciples spent their lives, witnessing and confessing our
faith, what ripple effect might we create? Isn’t after all, the reason that we
are all here? As I wrote this, I began to ponder, what are the ripples of
Sydenstricker? Some years back there was colleague and friend who was preaching
in the Farmville District and then came to the Eastern Shore District. Her name
was Suzanne Spencer. She is the second wife of John Spencer after both of them
lost their first spouses to illness. The ripples go and go.
When we begin to
think about Paul’s words about the cloud of witnesses, we cannot help but pause
and think about our own congregation. How many could ever have imagined that a
meeting in the grove in 1907 by Reverend Sydenstricker would cause an entire
congregation to feel the need to establish a church here. But in 1910 that is
exactly what happened. Caleb Hall donated 4/10’s of an acre to construct a
church, to be named Sydenstricker. In November 1955, Reverend Henry S. Amidon
was sent to Sydenstricker to close it. However, he had a greater vision than
that and so he went about growing the church, revitalizing it in every way,
through faith, energy, number of members and the building itself. Our history
tells us that in 1978 we had a challenge to actively evangelize and grow or
maintain status quo. The congregation, the report tells us, wanted to meet the
challenge. A new sanctuary was built and was consecrated Palm Sunday 1981. The
ripple here in this community continues.
As we pause this
day, we remember, those who made a difference in the lives. We have already
lifted up Rev. Amidon. Following him Rev. Jack Martin arrived, a man I got to
know when he was District Superintendent of the Petersburg District, who had a
vision for a larger church and a larger community presence. Following his
leadership and the building of the new sanctuary, Ed and Libbie Wright arrived
believing in that vision and doing all they could to make it possible. Some of
the names I have heard are Claude and Jane Gentry, Shirley Dolfi who shared the
original congregational care, Barb Russell whose life purpose was to recruit
young people and the leaders to lead them. Nell Barnard who was the original
flower person, who raised flowers for the altars each week. The Hall family who
have been a part of this church from the very beginning. Today we have the
memories of those who have passed to their heavenly reward to spur us on for
the future. Never rest on the laurels of the past, but embrace the challenge of
the future. That has been the mantra of Sydenstricker for generations and that
job has been passed down to us today.
We are called therefore,
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance
the race that is set before us. How many of us can say that we came to faith
because of the witness of someone before us? How many of us take seriously the
command of Jesus to go therefore, to make disciples, to baptize and to teach.
We are called to be the place where people can find Jesus, learn about God’s
love and then share that love with the world around us. We are called just the
same as those in the grove in 1907 to promote the love of God through our
actions, words and deeds and to share the Gospel. We are called to show
Christ’s love in action, bringing God to people and people to God.
As we remember, let
us look forward. Who can we be if we put our faith and trust in God? What can
be accomplished if we trust God to venture out and witness? Reverend
Sydenstricker said it best, “We are ready to believe that the seed sown will
bring fruit, and our labors will not be in vain…” There is much to be done. Let
us celebrate the legacy of those who have gone on before us and then move
forward into new realities, new beginnings, all to the glory of God.
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