January 24, 2021 - Succession Plans

Recorded Worship on YouTube

Deborah Laforet Mark 1:14-20

Succession Plans

How many of you watched the inauguration on Wednesday?  I admit, I turned on my television at 10am and kept it on most of the day, sometimes muting it while I worked, but I kept my eye on what was happening in D.C., mourning the changes made to the celebration because of COVID and the absence of a past president, but celebrating a new president, the first female, black and south asian vice-president and hopefully, an administration that offers healing and hope to a country divided and polarized.

I admit that, as an American, I understand US politics much more than Canadian politics. and this is what I understand about succession plans in the US.  I know that every four years there is an election for president, that a person can only be president for two terms in a row, and, if the current president could not fill that role, because of death or illness or incapacity, the vice-president would fill the role of president.

Succession plans are important.  They create smooth transitions, they create security in knowing what’s ahead, and sometimes they provide the opportunity to pass on knowledge and wisdom.  

In the church, I have been part of several conversations with minsters talking about how they will leave a church they are serving.  In the United Church, ministers are required to give three months notice, but some wonder whether they should do more.  Some have wondered whether it would be helpful for a minister who is leaving to work with the incoming minister to help with transition.  Some wonder whether giving a year’s notice would help a congregation in taking their time to assess their needs and create a vision for what comes next.  Transitions and succession plans are important.  They can be smooth or they can traumatic.  They can be a time to acknowledge grief and bring some healing, or they can be hurtful and bring lost lasting harm.  Having succession plans can make all the difference.

I read two bible passages this week that reminded me of this succession, which may have been on my mind because of the inauguration.  The first passage is from the the fifth book of the bible, Deuteronomy, the last book of the Torah.  It addresses who will follow Moses as the leader of the Hebrew people.  I’m sure it would have been very difficult to have a leader follow in the footsteps of Moses, but God knows that the time is coming and offers a message to the Hebrew people about listening to God-given messages from prophets, but to beware of false prophets.  We’ll hear more about this passage next week.

The second reading was from the gospel of Mark.  It starts with, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.”  Many believe that Jesus was most likely a disciple of John.  Also called John the Baptist, he was an outspoken prophet, preaching of repentance and speaking out against the sins of those in power, specifically King Herod, ruler of Galilee.  For this he was arrested.  We then hear of Jesus beginning his own ministry, telling people that the kingdom has come near, to repent, and to believe in the good news.  He then gathers his own followers, promising to teach them how to fish for people.

Why do prophets, rabbis, ministers, priests - religious leaders - gather disciples around them?  Healthy religious leaders want to share a message of peace and justice and love, God’s message, to all people.  They want to share faith stories that help us grow and live in right relationship, and they want to share far and wide, but why then do they gather followers, why do they teach these followers also how to also share their faith stories and message of love, peace, and justice, how to offer healing, how to speak truth to power, and how to bring forth the kingdom of God on earth?

Disciples are more than just followers.  They are the succession plan.  Jesus, as a disciple of John’s, began his own ministry with his own disciples, after John’s arrest.  Jesus became the outspoken prophet, speaking truth to power, gathering disciples and making enemies.  After experiencing his own teacher’s arrest and execution, Jesus knew that the outcome might be the same for him.  He needed followers that would carry on, and they did.  We read in our bible that the disciples of Jesus became the Apostles, which means people who are sent out.  So they start as disciples who are gathered in and they became apostles who are sent out to seek more followers.

The same is true of all people who follow Jesus.  We are gathered in to learn about Jesus, to connect with the divine, to become one with Christ, to become aware of injustice and oppression, greed and indifference, and how to create a world of peace, justice, generosity, and compassion.  Then we are pushed out into the world to share these messages, to create a new world, and to find more followers.

You see, when we are baptized and confirmed, we don’t only profess our belief, we also make a commitment to follow the way of Jesus and to join others in celebrating God’s presence, living with respect in creation, and loving and serving others.  We agree to becoming part of the succession plan.  

And we do that in a number of ways.  Evangelism is how we spread the news.  We do this when we share our faith, not with the intent of converting people or ‘saving’ them, but because we can’t help it; it’s part of who we are and it’s a story we are proud to share.  We tend to shy away from evangelizing, from telling people about Christ and our faith.  Somewhere along the way we learned that it shouldn’t be a goal to make disciples, to grow the church, but that was one of the first acts of Jesus.  “Come; follow me.”  He sought out people to be followers and told them he would teach them how to find more followers, not necessarily to build a church building and worship there one day a week, but to pray, to preach, to heal, to be generous, to listen, to understand, to do justice.  

Our justice work also inspires others.  When people see an individual or a church community that cares for the vulnerable, rejected, and disempowered, who go outside of their walls to partner with others as allies and to work for a world of peace and justice, people become curious and want to know more.

When we love our community by offering to connect with seniors, offer programs for children and youth, offer affordable and safe space for community groups, fly rainbow flags to show an inclusive stance for all people, support people in their grief and ill health, show care for the earth, and offer to learn more about reconciliation with indigenous people and the land - all of this inspires people to want to learn more about us, to walk with us, and possibly become a part of our succession plan, or I should say, a part of a holy succession plan, God’s succession plan, a plan that offers spiritual guidance and support and well-being as well as sense of purpose and mission.  

We talk often about how young people are or future, but it’s not just young people.  The U.S. just elected their oldest president.  We are not told of the ages of the disciples that followed Jesus.  Age doesn’t seem to matter in the gospels and I don’t think it should matter to us.  We can all be disciples; we can all be apostles.

We are baptized and confirmed only once, but we make our promises over and over again.  We, as disciples of Christ, live out these promises.  We, as apostles of Christ, are sent out into the world to gather more disciples and to walk with our sisters and brothers, with our siblings, with justice and mercy, kindness, and humility.  May we, as a community of faith, vision our way forward, knowing our succession plans help us continue to bring this vision of God’s kingdom on earth.  May it be so.  Amen.

Deborah Laforet