The Most Important Ability

As we near the end of the College and Pro football seasons, we have seen injuries, life events, and other happenings take their toll on competing teams.  Teams are somewhere on the spectrum from "dinged-up" to (southernese) "tore-up."  Coaches are pulling our what little hair they have left to put a team on the field that can compete.  As I write this, I am battling a sinus issue, and as Lewis Grizzard once said, "Elvis is dead, and I'm not feeling too good myself."  But ... I am here.

A week ago, one of our new workers came in the back door, reporting for duty.  She was wearing a mask, not to protect herself, but to make sure her ailment wouldn't spread to those she would be working with.  But ... she was here.  Because the most important ability is availability.  I love that a young person would have that drive and work ethic, and my already-robust respect for her went up even more.

I think that Jesus was thinking about this when, at the beginning of Luke 9, Jesus reminds us of the most important ability.  In Luke 9, Jesus sends out the 12, giving them "power to drive out demons and cure diseases."  The chapter continues with Jesus feeding the 5000 (where Jesus says, "you feed them").  Peter declares Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus predicts His death, the Transfiguration happens, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy, and, at the end of the chapter, Jesus speaks about the cost of discipleship.  Two people come up to Jesus, saying they desire to follow, after they take care of some personal business.  Jesus has a curt response for each of them:

1. To the man who wants to bury his father, Jesus says ... "Let the dead bury their dead ... you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God!"  You must be available to Jesus to make that happen.

2. To the man who wants to tell his family goodbye, Jesus says ... "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God." You must be available to Jesus is you want to follow and serve.

Jesus' words might seem harsh, but the story is a representation of how we, as people who make choices, decide priorities, and make statements about our so-called faith, really proclaim our faith by being available to Jesus.  It is a lot easier to sing the songs, make the statements, and talk the talk, than it is to 1) serve, and 2) proclaim.  Let's examine what "serve" and "proclaim" mean this week, as we begin the year giving God our most important ability ... our availability.  AMEN

Nothing Ordinary!

If you Google, Liturgical Calendar, you will find some brightly colored images with seasons, dates, and a description of the Christian liturgical year.  As we move into the 2nd week of January, some calendars call this the season of Epiphany, but Epiphany is really the 1st Sunday after January 1st.  This was last Sunday for us, and we celebrated the Magi encountering the Christ child (a toddler about 3 years old), and we remembered that this event marks Jesus being revealed as the savior to the Gentiles as well as the Messiah for the Jews.  But most folks call this season of the liturgical year something else.  The time between Epiphany and Lent is called "Ordinary Time."

For preachers, this time is not at all ordinary.  Here, January is filled with meetings, budgeting, and administrative work.  It (this year) will be a time we use for planning for our Sacred Arts Initiative, which includes Moonlighters (February 13th), Lenten Music Events (March), our Choir and Arts Camp (July), and many other events, especially our Children's and Youth Calendar.  We will be working on hiring a Student Ministry/Discipleship person (pray for your pastor and the SPRC Team).  We will also be planning for, and inviting you to, the GMC Alabama Emerald Coast Annual Conference in Dothan (1st week of May, 2026), where you will be able to receive hands-on training in becoming disciples who make disciples!  There will also be a trip (September) for our Sacred Arts Team to visit Asbury Seminary and get some needed recharging.  NOT ordinary at all!

Here's the point.  Christmas and New Year's are only beginnings.  Both are times when we choose to follow better/closer, or drift along being unchanged and untransformed.  Last week, we were reminded that the Magi "went back by a different way."  So, consider these questions:

1. Will 2026 be an epiphany or a continuance?

2. Will 2026 be a transformation or a season of lethargy and sameness?

3. Will 2026 be ordinary or extraordinary?

There is a story in Luke 2.  It tells of the prophetess, Anna.  At least 2 things from Anna's story are worth noting.  The first is that we find Anna doing the things that we should be doing as we are expectant for God's activity.  She was in God's house (the Temple), worshipping, fasting, and praying. And, when Jesus walks past, she reflects and speaks about the redemption story, and the child who will make a way for that redemption.  Second, we find that Jesus goes back to Galilee with Joseph and Mary, and enters His "ordinary time."  Luke 2 says, "the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him."  During "ordinary time" some extraordinary things happened.

1. The child grew.  The  Son of God grew, so maybe we should grow!

2. The child was filled with wisdom.  I wonder how that happened?  I will bet Jesus read, sat with wise and learned leaders, and watched how Mary and Joseph did life.  He learned, so maybe we should learn.

3. The grace of God was on Him.  John Wesley tells us there are ways we can (if we are true followers) receive God's grace.  Maybe Jesus did some of these things.  Prayer, service, attention to the sacraments, fellowship with other believers, fasting, worship ... these are just some of the ways God's grace comes to us.  Jesus was filled with the grace of God, so maybe we should be filled with grace too!

Jesus lived this out, so maybe we should too!  Jesus' quest for growth, newness, fullness, and abundance was evident. Epiphany, transformation, and abundance!  I am down with those things, and I hope you will invest time, energy, resources, and prayer into a year that will see all of these things happen, as God uses you to build His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven!  AMEN and AMEN!