Message from the Pastor

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then he called a little child over to sit among the disciples, and said, “I assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. (Matthew 18:1-5)

We took our daughter Edith, now four years old, mountain hiking for the first time in her life. We had carried her in a hiking backpack three years earlier, but now we wanted her to do the walking herself. Growing up in Mississippi, and now especially in the Delta, she barely knows what it means to walk up a steep hill for a long time. We knew we needed incentives.

“You get Skittles if you make it to the top!” We promised the reward that any child would want: candy. And when we reached our goal, one and a half miles uphill, she eagerly cupped her hands to receive the rainbow-colored bites of chewy sugar. “Do you want one, Daddy?” she asked, holding out a purple Skittle in her sticky fingers. I said yes and let her plop it into my mouth. “It’s like gum!” she exclaimed.

With newfound vigor, Edith began to play in the thick green moss on the ridge of this smoky mountain. Pulling up large clumps, she arranged them into the shape of a building, while I tried to tie some sticks together with a piece of grass. When I presented my makeshift cross to her, she recognized it immediately. “A cross! Here, Daddy. This will be a church.”

The church soon had a swimming pool (also quite green), a slide, and a garden arbor made from an arched, flexible twig. “This is a place to get married!” she said.

In this morning walk, Edith exhibited three of the main features of childhood: (1) Listened to adults and following their example, (2) eagerly receiving gifts, and (3) being absorbed in a little task, without any shame or awareness of its triviality.

She listened to us describe the hike, and she followed our steps and obeyed our directions as she learned to climb steep, root-field trails and use stepping stones to walk over stream beds. At the pinnacle, she gratefully received the gift of a special treat. (Skittles are not kept in our pantry, so this was quite novel.) While we rested at the top, she engaged in playing and working (all the same, for a nurtured child) to build a world of toys—a miniature playset—from only the materials at her feet.

All of these attributes are worthy of emulation.

Jesus’s disciples came to him and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus’s answer is striking, especially for his culture: In his opinion, a little child is the best definition of a great person.

He wants his disciples to strive not toward controlling powers, social prestige, nor luxurious living. The follower of Jesus instead is humble, listening, obediently following Jesus’s example, welcoming and receiving gifts from God, and fully engaging “little” tasks, which included caring for “little” people.

In fact, not only does Jesus say that children are the greatest in the kingdom, he goes even farther to say that only children and the childlike will get into the kingdom!

He called a little child over to sit among the disciples, and said, “I assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus doesn’t want “Great People” in his church, only humble servants. “Great People” in the world are not usually great for Jesus’s church and mission. Those whose lives are spent in the pursuit of wealth, self-serving power, and celebrity status are useless to Jesus’s work of honoring the humble and humiliated, healing the sick, and teaching obedience to just laws of God.

Only humble people will obey Jesus. (Arrogant people obey no one but their own egos.) Only humble people will follow Jesus’s path of gracious service, suffering, sacrifice, and humiliation. (Arrogant people will never stoop to engage “little" tasks or serve “little” people.) Only humble people will receive God’s forgiveness as a gift. (Arrogant people think God’s love is a reward or payment for their righteous behavior or achievements.)

But take note: To humble ourselves is not to belittle ourselves. To humble ourselves is to simply be honest about reality, knowing and enjoying ourselves as small in relation to a big God.

”Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Welcoming children—whether we are parents, teachers, mentors, or caretakers—is a humbling service. Jesus here honors such service with his own presence, because Jesus lives in solidarity with weak, needy, small, and humble people. Jesus himself is one who listens to, obeys, and follows the directions of his Father, he is one who loves to receive the gifts of his Father, and he embraces little tasks, engaging lowly acts of service with his total attention.

Here are some questions for self-examination: Who are the little or insignificant people in your church or community? Who is disliked and ignored? Jesus is calling you to welcome them into your presence. If you are devoted to the person of Jesus (for this is the meaning of doing anything “in his name”), then you will seek out these little people and give them your attention.

Jesus makes little people his cause, not great people. Do you?

Whom has God given you to work with or alongside? Do you receive them with patience and joy? Do you receive them as gifts from God? Especially if they are insignificant people of little power, do you receive them as Christ?

So many people in this world are longing for belonging. People everywhere want community, meaningful relationships, a place that welcomes them, celebrates them, and enjoys them.

During the coronavirus pandemic, many of us miss our church, our friends, and our families. Because of the physical distances we are maintaining, we long for the sense of community that we’ve lost. We want intimacy. We want to be welcomed back into the presence of someone who loves us.

You yearn for what you had—valuable relationships with people who love you.

Now, imagine what people who have no community long for? Just as you long for a loving community, so do many little, insignificant, needy people long for a loving community. This is the work of the Christian church—the church that is truly devoted to the person Jesus Christ: to seek out and welcome such little people into our lives, so that they can be fed by God.

We have missed gathering as a church for five and a half months. How long have the lonely people in our neighborhoods and cities—even in our own families—missed having a loving community? Years? Decades? How much longer will the church make them wait?

As we begin to gather back together, as the pandemic recedes, may we follow Jesus and reach out to those on the margins of our congregation and to those without any congregation, welcoming them into the family of God. In welcoming God’s beloved “little people” as gifts from God, we welcome the presence of God’s Christ, God’s self-in-the-flesh, the greatest gift of all.

Peace be with you,
Pastor Brad

Lectionary Readings for September

Sunday, September 6 — Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 18:1-20
Sunday, September 13 — Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 18:21-35
Sunday, September 20 — Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 20:1-16; Psalm 119:33-40

Sermon Series: Jesus’ Sermons During His Last Week

Sunday, September 27 — Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 21:23-32; Psalm 139:1-10

The Mission of St. Luke UMC is to be a Place to Belong, Believe, & Become Disciples of Christ

OPPORTUNITIES TO BELONG

While Pastor Brad and his family were on a short vacation, Julia Sheets and the Wesley students led our service on August 30. At that time we collected a special offering to support the Wesley Foundation. If you weren’t in church on the 30th, please consider sending a check to the church office to help fund this wonderful campus ministry. You can mark your check “Wesley Love Offering.”

United Methodist Women Grace Circle will not meet in September. UMW Lunch Bunch is on hold for the foreseeable future.

Fall No-Bakesale: Can it possibly be time for another No-Bake Sale? Yes. Our annual fall No-Bake Sale will be from September 20 to October 11. One half of the money raised for the No-Bake Sale has in past years been used for Christmas in July and White Christmas to provide extra help for those two major St. Luke mission projects. The other half is distributed by UMW to local, district and conference mission agencies such as Helping Hands, DSU Wesley Foundation, Methodist Children’s Home, Moore Community Center in Biloxi and the Choctaw Mission in Philadelphia. You will receive a letter with a self-addressed return envelope later this month. Make your check payable to St. Luke UMW and mail to Jackie Pennington.

Previous newsletters have highlighted the UMW Frances Perry Scholarship, Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi Children’s Homes, Mississippi Choctaw United Methodist Mission, Wesley House in Meridian and Bethlehem Center in Jackson which are included in the UMW budget and funded in part with proceeds from the No-Bake Sales. The highlight for September is St. Andrew’s Mission in McComb.

St. Andrew’s Mission was started in 1995 by the pastor of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church. This pastor had a vision of helping the citizens of White Acres, a low-income housing community located right across the street from the church. The mission received a grant to start providing child care services and a food pantry ministry for the residents of White Acres. St. Andrew’s Mission was incorporated in 1997.

When the Mission moved from this church on Labranch Street, there were over twenty child care centers operating in the area; so only the food ministry was moved. Since then, St. Andrew’s has grown to 12 active ministries with a 13th on the way. St. Andrew's Mission provides meals to the hungry, medical care to the sick, shelter to the homeless, and assistance and counseling to those in need.

For more information on this United Methodist institution check out their website at standrewsmission.org.

The Finance Committee will meet Sunday, September 20, at 11:35 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Masks are required and social distancing will be observed.

Charge Conference via Zoom, with the District Superintendent, Wednesday, November 4, at 7:00 pm, Details will be forthcoming. Please let Pastor Brad know if you need help participating via Zoom video conferencing.

OPPORTUNITIES TO BELIEVE

During the worship service on September 6 we will have a Blessing of the Backpacks for our children who are returning to school. Children and youth are invited to attend and encouraged to bring their backpacks.

Pastor Brad will be offering a small group opportunity for spiritual formation, beginning Wednesday, September 16, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. The group will meet once a week for 9 weeks. Thanks to the feedback received from the congregation via our online survey, we have a sense of the opportunities we can provide that will meet your spiritual needs safely. This is just one of the opportunities that the church will offer in the coming weeks and months to nurture spiritual growth during these unprecedented times. If you want to join this group, email Brad at bradcorban@yahoo.com to secure your spot. PARENTS: Kathleen has volunteered to play with your kids on the church playground while you participate.

OPPORTUNITIES TO BECOME DISCIPLES

Don’t forget our Second Sunday mission effort for Helping Hands. Please bring a bag of apples and/or a jar of peanut butter—or canned goods, if you prefer—on the second Sunday of each month. There is a collection basket in the narthex. The second Sunday is also Dollar Sunday, when we have an opportunity to put a few extra bills in the collection basket to support our Compassion Fund, which the pastor uses to meet emergency needs in the community.

For many of us, the stay-at-home routine has included cleaning out closets and drawers. If your efforts yielded gently used items that you no longer use, please remember that you have an opportunity to support your church. If you take unwanted items to Consign for a Cause, located on South Street next to South Street Pharmacy, you can designate that a portion of the proceeds from their sale go to St. Luke.