THE MEANING OF MEMBERSHIP

a homily by the Rev. Dr. Tim W. Jensen
delivered at the First Religious Society in Carlisle Massachusetts
Palm Sunday, March 20th, 2005


It sure seems like there's an awful lot going on around here this weekend, not the least of which is that today is officially the first day of Spring. According to the Royal Naval Observatory in Greenwich, England, the Vernal Equinox was at 7:36 this morning (our time), which means that this past winter is now finally and forever history, and as far as I'm concerned not a moment too soon. I read the other day that the average annual winter snowfall here in "the Neighborhood of Boston" is about 42 inches. This year, we've had more than twice that amount -- and in some places, significantly more: about 86 inches at Logan Airport, but over 107 inches just south of here, in Needham. I don't exactly know what the total amount was right here in Carlisle, and I'm not really sure I want to know either. Having grown up in Seattle (where the average annual snowfall is only about 8.6 inches), it's all felt a little overwhelming...and although I've certainly appreciated the novelty of it all, I'm really looking forward to something different, even if it is just a lot of mud.

Of course, this weekend also marks the opening round of this year's "Big Dance." The NCAA basketball tournament is one of my favorite sporting events of the year, especially when my own Alma Mater (the University of Washington) is a Number One seed, and has already advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Naturally, I was also hoping to see Boston College go a little deeper into the tournament, and I still have my fingers crossed for the University of Vermont to be wearing the Cinderella slipper. But on another level, it really doesn't matter to me who wins or who loses, because the game itself is such a beautiful thing to see, and it always gives me such joy just to watch these kids play, and to witness the thrill they feel at being part of a real team.

And then I suppose I would somehow be remiss if I didn't also mention [again] that today is Palm Sunday -- which marks the end of the season of Lent, and the beginning of Holy Week. This is a very dramatic time in the traditional Christian liturgical calendar. The week begins with Jesus's triumphant arrival at Jerusalem -- he chases the moneychangers out of the temple, and teaches openly in the streets of the city -- confounding the lawyers and the high priests, all the while relying on the presence of large crowds to defy the local authorities and playing cat and mouse with the temple guards. And then one night, after a week of this highly subversive activity, he is betrayed by one of his own and arrested, tried by a secret tribunal, turned over to the soldiers of the occupying foreign military power, who in turn proceeded to torture him for awhile and then publicly executed him as an example to other would-be religious insurgents. Not such an unfamiliar story, really. But then, just a few days later, something miraculous happened that people are still talking about. I can't really explain it all, and I won't even try. But I will say this: they may be able to kill the teacher, but they can't kill the teachings or destroy the spirit that gives them life. That ought to be a lesson to tyrants everywhere, as well as an inspiration to those who resist them.

And then finally, this is also our New Member Recognition Sunday -- the day that we formally welcome as members of this community the people who have chosen to sign our membership book and affiliate with this congregation over the past twelve months. Because I'm the minister (and therefore supposed to know these things), I'm often the one who people come to when they want to know what it means to become a member of this church. And because the decision to join this church (or any church) is such a personal thing, I always have to respond by saying that becoming a member of the First Religious Society means different things to different people. And likewise, although the physical act of joining this church is a very simple thing (literally, all you have to do is sign your name), becoming (or maybe I should say BEING) a member of FRS can mean as much or as little as you choose to make it mean. If you look in the dictionary, you will see that a "member" is simply a part of a body. And just as no two body parts are exactly alike, no two members of this church are exactly alike either. We all have our own strengths and skills and interests; and we all have different areas and levels of involvement at any given time. There is really only one element that I can say is common for everyone, and that is the more of yourself you put into your experience here, the more likely you are to get something truly worthwhile out of it. And that is true of everything in life, from family and career to working out at the gym, or being part of a winning team.

And yet there are also certain things that we do, as a body, which create a shared context for membership here. The Meaning of Membership in many ways is simply an amalgam of all these other little "ships" which serve as the vessels of our common life together.

The first two of these are Worship and Fellowship. I mention them together because they are best understood when you see them in relationship, like the love of God and the love of neighbor. Worship is the time we set aside to ponder the "big picture" -- to allow our spirits to enjoy a "sabbath" from our worldly concerns, as we contemplate the deeper meanings that give our lives purpose. And Fellowship is the celebration of our connection to one another, and the recognition of our mutual interdependence in which both our sense of dependence and our desire for independence find their appropriate compliments. This hour and a half on Sunday morning is the center of our life together, and all of the benefits of being a member here flow from this simple act of just showing up

But in addition to these two (dare I say?) Fundamental activities of Worship and Fellowship, there are three other basic manifestations of Membership which help structure the framework of our life together.

And the first of these is Discipleship. We've all heard the word disciple, I'm sure, more often than not I would suspect in the context of a phrase like "the disciples of Jesus." One of the reasons that many Christian churches like to acknowledge new members on Palm Sunday is related to this -- it has to do with the invitation Jesus made to his disciples to "pick up your cross and follow me." But disciples are not so much "followers" as they are students or "learners." Discipleship is about cultivating the discipline to follow, not a person, but a path. I know many of you have heard this from me before, and if you stick around for very long you will probably here me say it again and again. Discipleship is about committing one's self to a path of personal spiritual growth and religious learning, and then faithfully sticking with it long enough to get "results" -- a process which you will quickly discover is basically a life-long commitment.

The next of these things is Stewardship. Stewardship, unfortunately, is often understood simply as a euphemism for participating in the fund drive, but it's really much more sophisticated than that. The Church is an institution which we inherit from our spiritual ancestors, and which we hold in trust for our spiritual descendants. And I'm not just talking about a historical building and some real estate either -- I'm talking about a heritage of public service, along with some specific traditions and values which define our church as a community of faith, and give it a personality and identity. This is not a static thing: it's something which changes and develops and evolves over time in response to the conditions of the wider world. Good Stewards are faithful custodians of that legacy, as well as cultivators of its growth. Naturally, this process involves paying the current bills, as well as maintaining and preserving the legacy of the past, and maybe even setting aside a little something for the future as well. Good Stewards are Caretakers -- they care for the church and the people in it, so that we might continue to serve our Neighbors and Fellow Creatures faithfully and meaningfully for a long, long time.

This brings us to the last of these specific areas, which is Leadership. Leadership is about seeing opportunities for doing good work in the world, and then sharing that vision in such a way that we are able to bring others together to help achieve it...together. Becoming a member of a church is not just about joining an organization...it's about becoming a leader of that organization, by participating in the process which guides it forward through the world. On its most basic level, leadership is about living life in such a way that your good example becomes an inspiration to others. It's easy to forget sometimes how much our own behavior can influence the behavior of those around us. When we "do unto others" was we would have others do unto us, we are acting as leaders, as well as witnesses, to our faith.

If I were to try to summarize everything that I know about this topic in just a few words, I would have to say that the true meaning of Membership is ultimately about creating Friendships. But not just any kind of friendships; rather, a very specific kind of friendship which insists that we honestly examine and explore our experiences as human beings, and try to get in touch with that part of ourselves that lives deep within us...our spirits, our souls... and then relate to one another authentically on that level. It's a friendship based on empathy and compassion, a shared appreciation for a common set of values, along with a passionate desire to work together to make the world a better place for us all.

So, Worship and Fellowship; Discipleship, Stewardship, and Leadership; Authentic Friendship. These are the activities that make Membership meaningful here at the First Religious Society in Carlisle. And today we want to welcome and formally acknowledge all of the people who have made the decision to officially affiliate with this congregation -- to join OUR team -- in the past twelve months....

[Ceremony of Recognition of New Members]