“It’s Morphin’ Time!”
A Sermon Preached by the
Rev. Jean Niven Lenk
Homecoming Sunday, September 11, 2011
First Congregational Church of Stoughton , United Church of Christ
Text: Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:1-2
As I said at the beginning of worship, welcome, welcome back, and welcome home! We are delighted that you have all joined us this morning, and we hope you make Sunday morning worship with us your regular weekly routine.
But whether you have worshipped in this church all your life or are here for the first time this morning, a word of caution: you will probably not leave this sanctuary the same person as you entered it. And the reason is that worship invites us into an experience of the sacred. And when we encounter God, we cannot help but be changed, because as we come together as a community of faith, as we sing hymns, as we say prayers and praise God, God is busy working in us -- touching, healing, renewing, and redeeming us. And we leave this sanctuary a different person that when we entered it.
If you are 20-something, or if you have children of that age, you might recognize the title of my sermon: “It’s Morphin’ Time!” It comes from the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” a TV show in the early-90s starring a group of teenage superheroes. Central to the plotline was the characters’ ability to change – or, as they called it, “morph.” With the rallying cry, “It’s morphin time!” normal adolescents were miraculously transformed into martial arts heroes.[i]
Well, we’re not going to change into superheroes, but in our own way, you could say that “It’s morphin’ time” as we sit here in worship and as we begin a new church year. The word “morph” is rooted in the Greek word metamorphose, which means “to transform.” And transformation is what happens when we grow spiritually and nurture our relationship through God.
Metamorphose is the word the Apostle Paul used when he wrote in his Epistle to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The words are as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago, for many people, deep in their hearts, yearn for this kind of transformation but have not been able to find it out in the world. When life is not working out as expected, when there is brokenness and the need for healing, when there is a yearning for meaning and purpose, conforming to this world will not help. Meaning and purpose and healing will happen when we experience God – when we are given new hearts and new minds as disciples of Christ, the one who makes all things new.
And that is our purpose here at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton, United Church of Christ. It’s right there on the cover of our worship bulletin: “Forming Disciples; Transforming Lives.” And transformation happens when we nurture our relationship with God through worship, through prayer, through reading the bible, serving others, developing spiritual relationships, and giving generously. Christians call these various activities “practices” because we need to do them over and over again – to practice them – so they become habits deeply ingrained in our lives and in our beings.
From the earliest days of the Christian faith, Jesus’ followers were drawn together into a community of faith through these practices. In our scripture lesson from Acts, we read that the early Christians worshipped together on a regular basis, they shared meals, and learned the prayers and psalms and the stories passed down in their oral tradition. They gave to the needy, and welcomed new members into their spiritual family. Worship, scripture, prayer, serving, giving, relationships -- that’s how disciples were formed and lives transformed 2,000 years ago, and those same Christian activities can do the same for us.
And so, here are some invitations:
We invite you develop a spiritual practice of prayer and to rest in the awareness that there is a divine power greater than yourself who loves you unconditionally, infinitely, and completely. To help you in your prayer life, we offer a lay-led prayer group every Sunday morning. It begins at 9:15 and for a half hour, the group prays for people and concerns that are in our hearts, in our church, our community, and the world. Also, every Communion Sunday – the first Sunday of the month -- I am available here in the sanctuary at 11:30 to share private prayers with you, to wrap you in a prayer shawl, to anoint you with oil, and lay hands on you. I would be happy to share prayers with you for yourself or a loved one at any time; just let me know.
We also invite you to develop the spiritual practice of reading the bible. There are many ways to approach the Good Book, to benefit from its wisdom, and relate it to our 21st century lives. Beginning this month, I am offering an 8-week bible study on the Old Testament, both on Tuesday mornings and also on the Thursday evenings. There is more information in this morning’s Notes and Notices; if you’re interested, please sign up in the lobby. Or – if you prefer to read the bible on your own at home, or if you have questions on how to begin or what kind of bible to use, I’d be happy to help you -- just let me know.
We also invite you to find ways to serve others through this church this coming year. We have in-house ministries such as our Wednesday morning prayer shawl group and our monthly Friendly Service group, as well as service opportunities in the community – such as collecting and delivering food to the Stoughton Food Pantry, participating in the October 16 CROP Hunger Walk, or making and serving supper at Mainspring House in Brockton. There are also myriad other ways you can serve this church, and if you’re interested in something that we don’t yet do at this church, just let me know!
We also invite you to develop deep and meaningful relationships within this faith community this coming year. The Christian faith is rooted in relationship – with God through Christ, and with one another, and there are many opportunities within this church for building circles of trust in which we can reveal our authentic selves -- with all our imperfections and vulnerabilities -- and be assured of acceptance, love, and caring. In addition to some of the ministries I’ve already mentioned, we will be offering a book study group beginning next Sunday evening on Love Wins by Rob Bell. Again, there is more information in Notices and Notices, and you can sign up in the lobby, and you can pick up a copy of the book at Coffee Fellowship.
We also invite you to consider all the ways in which God has blessed your life and to reflect the magnanimous heart of God through your financial generosity. We grow in discipleship by offering to Christ’s Church our best – not the non-intentional “whenever” giving of leftovers, but the regular, intentional, substantial and committed giving of a disciple’s heart.
And we invite you here every Sunday morning at 10 o’clock for worship. I pray you feel that being in this place, with God and all of us, is important enough to you that you will make a commitment to worship regularly and to have your children here, too. We miss you when you’re not here, and we hope you feel something is missing out of your week, too, when you can’t be with us.
The image of homecoming -- indeed, the inspiration behind “Homecoming Sunday” -- is finding or returning to a community of people with whom we can share both our joys and our struggles as we find our way home to God. And one of the reasons we search for this kind of community within the church is because it’s so hard to find it in other aspects of our lives.
Let’s face it -- there are many other activities that fill your time, and there are many competing ways to order your priorities. But the Church offers something that cannot be found anywhere else. The world can offer an education to make you more knowledgeable, it can offer you great career opportunities to make you wealthier, it can offer you a nice home to make you comfortable -- but the Church can offer you a way to have your heart and your life transformed by God.
And so, welcome, welcome back, and welcome home – and get ready to be transformed, because “it’s morphin’ time”! Amen.
[i] Inspired by John Ortberg, Laurie Pederson, and Judson Poling, Growth: Training vs. Trying (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), pp. 11-12.
