Laurel Dahill, May 24, 2006
“Like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it.”
It has taken over 2000 years, countless saints and martyrs have sacrificed themselves, theologians and teachers have labored to lay the foundation for this very day, the day when I get to preach. I get to reap the benefits of all those people who went before me, to build on the foundation other people have made – we all do.
Have you been watching the garage in the alley? The one they tore down to rebuild?
I’ve been keeping an eye on it, and it occurs to me that “foundation” is a flexible notion. It’s not necessarily a concrete basement. Everything becomes a foundation for everything else.
The poured concrete flooring was the foundation for the framing they put up, which became the foundation for the next thing that went on top of that. And the next thing that will go on top of that. And so forth… and you just keep building on what was put there before until you have a solid structure.
In 1835, Jackson Kemper was ordained the first Missionary Bishop, and set off Westward for parts unknown. He left the comfort of his own home in PA to bring the gospel to the frontier. That was the same year General Convention declared that we are all members of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society by virtue of our baptismal vows. It was the responsibility of the whole church, they said, to spread the word of God – our collective mission was to make disciples of all nations. That’s easier said than done.
Last week it rained so much that the contractors halted work on the garage. The stud walls were in place, and some of the ceiling joists were set, but the rest of the boards sat on the ground under a tarp with puddles forming around them. The guys decided that since the weather wasn’t going to cooperate, they might as well walk away until a better time.
Jackson Kemper wasn’t the only missionary to head west and evangelize to the indigenous populations. There were others, but scorching heat, drenching rains, and winter blizzards sent them back to their homes. It isn’t easy to the work God has given us to do. And more than a few turned back. So what was up with Kemper?
I think it was the Holy Spirit. It was passion. There was a fire there that no drenching rain could put out. He brought with him the Spirit of God. What else could it have been that kept him going for 24 years on the frontier? He had a passion and a vision that enabled him to persevere when the “weather” didn’t cooperate. It’s got to be the Holy Spirit.
What keeps us going through our processes? Why is it we’re all still here after so long, when the process can be so hard? It’s that Spirit. That passion. That perseverance. Where is the Spirit in you that keeps you going when the weather in your soul has gotten cold and damp? Will you let that turn you back to a safer place? Or will that Spirit kindle a fire that keeps you going to spread God’s word in the world?
Kemper saw a need in indigenous peoples. He began translating services into their native languages. He advocated on their behalf that more attention be paid to them, as sisters and brothers in Christ. He saw the beauty of their Spirit. Their passion, their fire.
The contractors came back when the rain eventually stopped. The electrical is going in, and that will enable them to work off the power in the building and not have to bring the generator everyday. There’s still a lot more to do, so they got the roof up so they can continue to build even if it does rain again.
You see, sometimes it rains, we experience difficulties, and we walk away. But that doesn’t mean we can not go back. That doesn’t mean we can’t return later and start to build again. We have to. If the guys left the garage the way it was, the wood would eventually rot, and all their work would go to waste.
But you know what, I don’t believe our mission with indigenous peoples has gone to rot. We can go back, and build on the foundation that Kemper, and others have lain. That’s reconciliation and healing! That’s what Gospel Mission is all about! When we make the decision to go back to building, we’ll do it knowing that what we build will become the foundation for the next generation, and the next generation. And someday, maybe someone will step up to preach and thank us for the foundation we laid.
May we, like Jackson Kemper, “have the vision, courage, and perseverance” to continue to make disciples of all nations.