Sermon: A Time for Introductions. . .

Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Peter 2:4-5, 9

Well, it’s a time of new beginnings. This week has been full of them. Some of you are back for a new academic year at UT or St. Edward’s. Bring it on, ’09-2010 – a new year! Some of you are graduate students – many of you probably stuck around here all summer, working and working. . . . Oh, the life of a dedicated graduate student. . . (Hopefully, you got a break too somewhere in the mix). Some of you were in Austin this summer working hard at your jobs. And some of you left your homes for the very first time this summer – just more than a week ago. And now you’re living in Austin, Texas – living a brand new beginning.

So how does that feel? I bet it feels exciting! So many new possibilities all at once. New classes, new settings, new friends. New. . . just about everything! But let’s face it, in the midst of all the newness, it’s easy for anyone to feel like a small fish in a gigantic pond. How many of you felt that way when you first came to college? I know I did. It was scary, and it was wonderful – all at once.

You’ve been introduced to many things this week. You’ve gone over new syllabi – some of you have decorated new rooms. Many of you have stood in the long lines known as the UT Co-op, and your checkbooks or debit cards took a beating after all those books were purchased. There are always so many exciting possibilities when a new start begins! There are also lots of new stresses. Well, please know this: You aren’t alone in them. You’re a small fish in the midst of other small fish, just like you. And the ones who have been around here a little longer will help you find your way.

In the midst of the newness and chaos, sometimes I like to sit back and in the giant-pond-ness of it all and realize that life-changing experiences and relationships are coming my way, sometimes when I’m not even looking for them. It’s comforting to realize that as I live my life, God is building me together with others. Again and again, I fall into a structure of people – people I believe God has brought into my life – and daily I am being built up and connected with others.

So even if you’ve been here for years and feel pretty well-accustomed to Austin life, newness always finds us too. Just look around this room. Newness is certainly finding its way into our community, renewing each one of us. Every year, new people with new personalities, new passions, and new talents find their way into our community, and we’re fuller and richer because of it. If you’re new here tonight – if you feel like an exceedingly small fish - I want to tell you that you’re welcome here. It’s exciting to be built together just like our text mentions tonight – to realize that we need each other – to realize that we’re called to care and nurture one another so that we can be a spiritual house together – a holy priesthood – to serve those who need us. And even though sometimes we feel reduced to a tiny guppy or minnow in a gigantic pond, we can take comfort in the truth that God goes before us, and God’s Spirit calls us into communities where we have a place, where we can live as one as a brick in a spiritual house in our own unique way.

So it’s a time for introductions in the midst of the newness. . . When I came to Austin in 2005 with Ian, my husband, he started a Ph.D. in astronomy at UT, and I entered Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, right in town on 27th street. I’ve heard a lot of good sermons in my life, but when I began my second year of seminary, I heard one of my favorites. Ted Wardlaw, President of the seminary, mentioned that seminary education is like a three year series of introductions. I’d like to say the same to all of us tonight. Your time in Austin – your time in college, grad school, or a job – will definitely lead you from one introduction to another. Life truly is a series of introductions. That’s much of what you’ll find here.

So, who will you meet here at Austin Agape? Like our text from Hebrews mentions tonight, you’ll encounter a Great Cloud of Witnesses. In your time here, you’ll meet Biblical characters. You’ll be introduced to the brazen boldness of Peter, the faithfulness of Ruth, the long-suffering of Paul, and the initiative of Esther. The list goes on and on. You’ll meet Old Testament Prophets, and you’ll walk through four Gospels written under the names of simple, common fishermen. And hopefully, none of these characters will point ultimately to themselves but will give witness to the love and mission of God, found uniquely in Jesus Christ – Emmanuel, God With Us, The One Made Human. We meet here every Sunday night in his Name, and you’ll be introduced to him again and again.

And who else? Have you ever considered the wonderful truth that we’re a community of communities? Each one of us has been formed in a series of communities – our families, our friends, our hometowns, our co-workers, our churches. We’ve been built together with them, and we’ve made spiritual meaning through our experiences in these communities. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we bring all of them - all of these people - in this room with us. So who’s inside you? How might you give us a gift by letting us know you – and in the process, letting us be introduced to the people who influenced you? And as you participate in the life of Austin Agape, who might you meet in us? Who can we introduce you to?

Well, let’s see. . . In your time here, I’ll tell you about St. John United Presbyterian Church in New Albany, IN – a congregation that surrounded me as teenager and young adult, a congregation that became my family and nurtured me to be the person I am today. And I’ll tell you all about David Roth, the pastor of that church, who became my very own surrogate father, who adopted me toward himself to become just like his children and trained me intentionally to become a pastor.

Walter Idol will tell you about his sister, Jennifer, who always seems to open up horizons for him in her free-spirited way of living. He’ll tell you how she lovingly pushes him and provides an example that always says, “Never, never give up.”

Catherine Faig will tell you about Carol Faig, her mother, who works in a profession where most of the employees are male. Catherine will tell you that through her mother’s example, she has come to believe that she can choose any career, and she can do anything she sets her mind to do.

Lindsay Aldrich will tell you about Denver McCallister, her middle school youth director. He was a great mentor, and in Lindsay’s 8th grade year, he took her and the other middle school youth to a conference where Lindsay says that for the first time, she realized that faith is a way of life and that people can actually have a relationship with God.

Patrick Garvin will tell you about Dr. Shirish, a man he met on his recent trip to India this summer where he and Drew Gerdes worked on a medical mission together. He’ll tell you how Dr. Shirish taught him through example that it’s possible to have commitment to your work in such a way that you prioritize helping people, rather than prioritizing ways to earn more money.

Alyssa Nipp will tell you about Laura Boston, her mother who truly believes in her. She’ll tell you how her mother encourages her and supports her dream to graduate school, and that she always encourages Alyssa to “do whatever makes her happy.”

Jeffrey Stump will tell you about Mr. Catlin, his 6th grade math teacher. He’ll tell you that in Mr. Catlin’s class, he didn’t learn a lot about math. But he did learn so many stories about life – particularly Mr. Catlin’s own stories about the Vietnam War. He’ll tell you how Mr. Catlin truly gained his respect.

Kathleen Fry will tell you about Ben Johnston-Krase, our former pastor here at UPC, who deeply affected her understanding of God. Perhaps most of all, she’ll tell you that she was moved as she watched how Ben treated people - how he built community with so many of the people he was privileged to know.

Paul Gallagher will tell you about George P. Walker III, his grandfather who he loved. He’ll tell you how much his grandfather is a model for himself – how his grandfather, like him, was also an engineer and someone he truly admires.

Amanda Nelson will tell you about Karen Nelson, her mother, who she describes as a “perpetual difference maker in my life.” She’ll tell you how she can always call her mother and hear good advice when she needs it.

Michael Anderson will tell you about our dear friend, Merrit Martin, a member of our community who is studying abroad this year in Argentina. He’ll tell you that she has taught him so much about friendship. She’s taught him that in friendship and meaningful conversation, he can develop and sharpen his relationship with God.

Kaci Porter will help lead our Bible Study this semester, and she’ll tell you all about John Calvin, her favorite theologian, who has helped her understand the beauty and grace that is found in the sovereignty of God.

Jennigale Webb will tell you about Cindy Wright, a woman in her hometown who once judged an essay contest that Jennigale entered. Cindy believed in her and invited her to write for the Fayette County Record, the local newspaper.

And Julio Zambrano will tell you about his friend Rodrigo who grew up with him in Brazil. He’ll tell you how Rodrigo consistently listens to him about anything at all and gives him good advice. Julio will tell you, “If I had a chance to add an extra brother to my family, I would definitely choose Rodrigo.”

Well again, the list could go on and on and on. . .

Who will you bring here? Who can you introduce to us?

How can you introduce us to an entire world we never knew existed, simply by being yourself? And how will God bring each one of us – each little fish of us -- and all our inner communities together to build us into a spiritual house? Only time will tell. . .Let’s start those introductions! Amen.

-Renee Roederer, Campus Minister