Leaving Well 0- Rev. Jonathan Warren

This is the day the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I want to be sure to welcome all of our guests here and online.

We're glad you're here, and we ask you to please pass the friendship pads.

Please tell us you're here.

Following worship, all are invited to the lounge.

These doors will open up, and all are invited to share refreshments with one another.

We have uh an update for our church office summer hours.

Um be sure to look at some of the bulletin announcements, and then uh the the main office hour change for summer is that Dana would not be here on Friday afternoon.

So everything shuts down then.

Our hearts for scripture.

Let us pray for illumination together.

God of abundant life, your grace is our daily bread.

Nourish us by your word and fill us with your spirit, so that we may grow in faith and love through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The gospel reading for today is from Matthew 28, verses 16 through 20.

Matthew 28:16–20

Let us listen to the word of God.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.

When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.

And he came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always to the end of the world of the age.

This is the gospel of our Lord.

Today we would like to recognize the choir for all their hard work that they have put in this year.

Each week, this dedicated group of people rehearse on Thursday nights and prepare for their anthems every Sunday morning.

They pray for each other and for our church, and they lift their voices to the glory of God.

And they are up there with me leading us in worship.

Today we would like to recognize maybe you could kind of wave your hand, Phil Lenevsky, Matt Hollandonner, Glenn Kafer, David Tiffany, Hannah Warren, Allie Craze, and our newest and most animated member, Rebecca Webster.

She's a s okay.

She's not animated today.

Marilyn Webster, Annette Simmons, Karen Cooley, Julie Hester, and Marcia Nelson.

And there's a few members who are missing: Clayton Spencer and Dan Thompson, Rebecca Spencer, and Jessica Hack when she is home.

And also our chancel choir director, Christine Smith.

You fill our worship.

Yes, thank you.

You fill our worship, and we would like to and and we show our gratitude.

Thank you for all you do.

Thank you.

Our next scripture reading comes to us from the end of the second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 11 through 13.

Let us listen to the word of God.

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell.

Put things in order.

Listen to my appeal.

Agree with one another.

Live in peace.

And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

I'd like to invite our children forward.

Good.

Hi.

Hi, Zara.

You're sitting really far away.

That's okay.

So I wondered what is your favorite part about coming to church?

Do you have a favorite part?

No, you do?

What's your favorite part?

Seeing your friends.

That's a good part.

What about you?

What's your favorite part?

It would be what?

Helping.

Okay, so Shannon has been helping the fellowship committee make lemonade and set out the food, and she's really been enjoying that.

It's fun to have a job to do, isn't it?

I think so too.

That you a job that you enjoy, yeah, not a chore.

Yeah, what's your favorite part, Julia?

The music.

Oh, I like that part too.

Did you think of any favorite part?

No?

That's okay.

Yeah, my favorite part.

I love hearing the music.

That's one of my favorite parts.

I like coming here, like Zara said, and seeing all my friends and being with the people.

And and I'm I'm just, you guys have the best ideas.

And I'm also like Shannon.

I like coming and having something fun to do and being able to see people and being able to help out.

It's really fun to be part of things, isn't it?

Yeah.

Um I wonder what other people's favorite part is.

I wonder if anyone's favorite part is coming and sitting in this beautiful room and looking at the stained glass.

And it's really pretty in here, isn't it?

I like coming in here.

You want to know a secret?

Sometimes I come in here like on Wednesday morning when nobody's here.

And I just like to come and sit in the quiet and look at how pretty it is.

And I think about how this building has been here for more than a hundred years, and like a hundred years worth of people come in here and sing songs and say prayers.

And I feel so cool.

I really like that about coming to church.

Yeah.

Well, my favorite thing about coming to church, my very, very favorite thing is that we all get to be together.

We get to see our friends, like Sarah said, and we get to help and we get to hear the music, but we're all here together.

Look at all these people.

Got up today and they got dressed, they didn't leave their pajamas on, because sometimes that would be nice on Sunday morning, wouldn't it?

But they all came here and here we are.

We're all together and we get to do this thing together.

And if we're having a great day, we can share it with people.

And if we're having a hard day, we could share that with people too.

And if we just want to have a uh drink, some lemonade that Shannon made, or if we want to eat a cookie or something, we have some friends to do that with.

And it's really cool.

It's cool to have some people around, isn't it?

To have some friends.

So during the summer, instead of going to um godly play, we are going to do something different.

We did this last summer.

We're gonna we're gonna have some people help us open those doors back there, and we're gonna have a blanket out, and we have some quiet activities to do.

And all the kids who are here are invited to come back and do the quiet activities.

But while we're there, the reason we're not going down to our Sunday school room is we can still listen or see all the things that are happening in here.

So we get to hear all the music, not just the first hymn.

We get to hear all the hymns and we get to um hear the sermon, which when I was a kid, the sermon wasn't my favorite part, but you could at least hear that it's happening, even if you're not really listening.

Yeah, Pastor Jonathan won't mind, will he?

And we get to see all these people who were here.

So it's really nice for us all to be here together during the summer.

And we do have some fun things to do.

So when we go back there, you guys are gonna find something that you like.

I know it.

So let's say our prayer, and then we will go back and sit on our blanket and and have some more time together.

Okay, wiggle your fingers and we'll put our hands together, and you can repeat after me.

Dear God, thank you that you love us.

Thank you for this church and all the things we love about it.

We thank you that we're together.

Amen.

Okay, let's head back.

Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?

Of course, he mangles the cliche because it's supposed to be, why don't you make like a tree and leave?

Trees and leaves, like that works.

There's many other ways to say goodbye.

Jedi's say, May the force be with you.

Spock says, does he say, live long and prosper?

Porky Pig says, That's all, folks.

Johnny Carson on his last show said, I bid you all a heartfelt good night.

Walter Cronkite's famous sign-off was, and that's the way it is.

The Beatles sang, you say goodbye while I say hello, hello, hello.

Boys to Men, a cappella cover song, uh, It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to yesterday.

I can't sing as well as them, so uh you'll just have to listen to that one.

Sam Malone in the final episode of Cheers said, Sorry, we're closed, which perfectly mirrored the opening of the very first episode.

And from her balcony, Juliet tells Romeo, Good night, good night.

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.

Today we hear how Paul says goodbye to the Corinthians.

According to scholars, ancient rhetoric demanded that speeches conclude with an emotional recap recapitulation to the whole communication.

And the way Paul does it is with a closing and a benediction.

Basically, Paul has just written a letter that's full of tough love.

He's told the Corinthians to stop fighting, to figure out how to get along.

And in chapters 10 and 11, he tells them to stop listening to the super apostles.

So after writing this challenging letter, he says, Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell.

Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul gives them three directives to listen to me and not those other apostles, to be of one mind and to live in peace.

According to a Princeton professor, the relationship among believers has a Christological warrant that is based directly on God's action in Jesus Christ.

And believers do not belong to themselves.

Believers, according to Paul and our beliefs, they belong to Christ.

And the relationships among believers must reflect the one to whom they belong.

And they've been hearing from so-called super apostles who uh weren't necessarily commissioned by anyone to not do any of those things.

Our world teaches us to respond instead with anger and fear and hatred and self-absorption in the face of hurt and brokenness and threats.

So what Paul is telling them is not an easy or simple task, especially in a world like ours.

We face division and discord.

Politicians are trying to divide us all the time.

Social media somehow keeps finding ways to nip at us again and again.

Strain of the economy makes us a little bit more anxious, maybe a little bit angry.

War with Iran doesn't seem to be letting go and will likely have lingering effects on most of us.

And the church is not immune to division or discord.

While it is 2,000 years later, the world we live in isn't that much different than the world the Corinthians lived in.

A few years ago, we went to the St.

Louis Zoo with my cousin's family.

He's just a little younger than me.

And it was nice to spend the day together.

And just as we were about to leave, my cousin's wife said, Now, when we say goodbye, it's not going to be one of those Midwest goodbyes which takes 20 minutes until you finally leave.

It's just going to be goodbye and we leave.

I didn't know a whole region of people did this when saying goodbye.

I just thought it was the way that Warrens did it.

So when we said goodbye, we gave quick hugs and then we just left.

That was it.

And then when I got home, I Googled Midwest goodbye.

And it's a thing with a multi-step process.

This is what happens at every family gathering when we're ready to go.

You're Midwesterners, you probably know what I'm talking about.

It begins when someone checks the clock, smacks their knees, and says, Well, I suppose we should probably get going.

But then no one moves.

Things continue on as just nobody announced it.

And then the official declaration is made, and the group all rises together.

And a round of hugs and well-wishes take place.

And then the host offers you food to take home.

And it's usually packed in a used cool whip container.

This weekend, my brother reluctantly gave me his purchased reusable containers.

Like they're supposed to be recycled or thrown away, but he could until I said, Don't worry, I have Tupperware I brought, and I'll return them with your nephew.

I promise.

Then when you finally reach the front door, you turn the knob, and a brand new deep conversation begins.

Eventually, when you make it to the driveway or the sidewalk, they come out with you and spend another few minutes of chatting.

When you finally get into your car, you start the engine, you exchange a final round of waves through the windows.

And our kids roll their eyes and complain when I roll down the car windows because you can't see them waving.

So and then my dad stays out there and he waves the whole time.

I'm trying to get my whole car in order.

And then I also flash my lights on the way out, just so he knows I see him waving.

Goodbyes matter a lot.

And maybe they get too drawn out at times.

But I think it's because after a nice visit, you don't really want to leave.

But leaving well really makes a difference.

Paul even tells the Corinthians to give each other a holy kiss.

Not an erotic kiss, but more like the greeting still practiced in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern Eastern cultures.

It reminds me of our Midwest goodbye round of hugs, or the final round of waves through the window.

And then Paul finishes with giving the benediction that I say every week.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

When he does this, one scholar says, Paul gives the greatest hope to the Church of Corinth and the Church of today.

These verses point to the relational nature of God and remind us of the potential of relationship through God.

As for the gospel writer of Mark, for mortals, it is impossible.

But not for God.

For God, all things are possible.

Which means all that division and discord that we can't get along somehow.

There is hope.

Because of God.

God has a communal relationship.

We also get to see how Jesus says goodbye in our gospel text today.

He gives the apostles some directives.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And then he shares his final send-off.

And remember, I am with you always.

To the end of the age.

That last line, it's a whopper of a send-off.

He basically tells them that when they go out into the world, they're not doing it on their own.

They're not alone.

Jesus tells them that God is always with them.

Through this Trinity, the God, God the Father, and Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit is working in and through them.

Always.

And maybe this is why some of those famous farewells are timeless.

You say goodbye.

While I say hello.

Hello, hello.

Because they mimic what Jesus is saying, right?

May the force be with you.

Good night, good night.

Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.

We know that there is hope.

When it was time for Jacob to finally leave, even though he and Laban were at odds, they decided to establish a peaceful separation, a covenant.

And so they set up a stone pillar as a physical witness to their treaty.

It says in Genesis 31, 49, the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.

Between you and me, the Lord shall watch.

They shared a meal and swore oaths to never cross the monument with harmful intentions toward one another.

And then the next morning, Laban kissed his daughters and grandchildren goodbye and returned home.

God's right there, between them, even when they're absent from one another.

In some churches, these words from Genesis are used as the benediction, as the end of every service.

As you all know, I end the service each week by sharing this very benediction that Paul shares with us.

So I have a task for you today.

Not just with an open heart, but an open receiving posture.

You can probably do all kinds of things, but like I'm giving you a gift, right?

Or handing you a present, you can receive it like you're getting a present with your arms out.

Now if you're real Presbyterian or real Midwest nice and don't like to move or anything, and you're just standing here, what if you just turned your hand to receive it?

No one will notice.

And you don't have to go like this or this or you can just act cool and calmly.

But it's this posture of opening and receiving and allowing this benediction of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the bond of the Holy Spirit, that it will be with you.

Always.

And we go out into this world that's filled with all kinds of challenges.

Yes, we know all of those challenges.

We go knowing that we're not going to be out there all on our own.

Now, you might do the church version of the Midwest goodbye and share a cup of coffee with friends before you leave this place.

Maybe someone asks you to take them home.

But when you leave, know that you are sent out into this world.

That God is between us.

The Holy Spirit is in communion with us, and Jesus reminds us I am with you always.

That's the best way to leave.

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

Amen.

And now let us affirm our faith by standing and saying the Nicene Creed together.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence as the Father.

Through him all things were made for us and for our salvation.

He came down from heaven, he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered and was buried.

And the third day he rose again.

According to the Scriptures, he ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.

His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Spirit.

We believe in one Catholic Catholic and Apostolic Church.

We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and to life in the world to come.

Amen.

For you are that love which never ends, that joy which overflows, that faith which is always full.

We proclaim our praise to you as you send us into the world in which we live.

For you are the word we can speak to power, the healing we can offer to the broken, the justice which can replace oppression.

We offer our hands and hearts to you as you teach us new steps in this dance that we call life.

For you are the cleanser of our messy hearts, the breath of hope for our shallow lungs, and the password for access to grace.

With our hearts and our voices, bodies, souls.

We offer joyful noise to you, O God.

We give thanks.

We pray for all those who need your tender touch.

We pray you provide healing.

Allow us to be ever mindful that you are always with us.

We pray as you taught us, saying together, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

And now let us give of our tithes and our offerings and our whole selves to God.

As we offer our prayers, our presence, our gifts of time and resources, our service and our witness, we are grateful to join in God's creative acts to bring love and peace and hope to the world.

Amen.

Some people call the church when Dana's not here, and I'll answer it.

And they say, Oh.

And I say, Well, I'm here.

And then they think, oh no, this guy, all he he he only knows Midwest goodbyes.

This is gonna be 30-minute conversation.

Now I have to tell them all the prayers and all these things, and I just want to know who's so-and-so's phone number.

That's it.

So she will be here Thursday.

If you want to just talk, if you want to call and talk to me, you can always call and talk to me.

I love uh talking to you.

Uh but uh then we'll do the Friday afternoons off.

But that way you all know.

So remember what we're gonna do?

Just so you remember if you want to do this, if you just want to go like this.

Um we'll do that for the benediction.

Christ brings hope every hour and every day.

And now let us receive the benediction.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and forevermore.

Amen.