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“The blood is very strong.” She closed her comments on CNN with these words: "This is a very strong feeling. I can't deny what I feel."

I believe that there is something in Juanita Castro's story that might well resonate with all of us . The double mindedness that she experiences , the paradox of both loving and hating her brother , might be a good characterization of how we as Christians should be dealing with our relationship to the wider world: loving the people of the world, but standing firmly against some of the very unwholesome directions towards which the world is racing.

Juanita Castro left Cuba when she recognized that she would not be able to change her brother’s and mind . She lived in Mexico City for a year and then moved to Miami where she works in a drug store which she has operated for nearly half a century . She opted out of the political fray . She chose this simple , uncomplicated way .

Many in the religious community respond the same way that she did when we face into the confusions and the difficulties of the world filled with all sorts of powers , many of them seemingly dead set against directions that we believe God wants for the world . While Juanita withdrew from the fray , Fidel remained in the midst of the fray and has successfully withstood continuous pressure from the United States all these years.

But, note: Cuba did not survive alone . At key points along the way over the last half-century, the sponsorship of the Soviet Union equipped the struggling island nation to withstand the prevailing movement of history , leaving communism behind.

If I say the word “equip,” I’m willing to bet that a fair number of number of you having been listening to CNN and reading the newspapers, will quickly think of Hezbollah being equipped by Iran. Perhaps you would associate the word equipped with weapons and the know-how that the U.S. has provided Israel in the development of its regionally superior military force . Perhaps you'll think of Cuba being equipped and supported by the Soviet Union for many years . Equipping in all of these instances is the method by which one nation tries to attain its own self-interest by using another nation as a proxy . Equipping can come to seem devious , underhanded . It’s all very appropriate then that we are challenged this day to hear the word equipping in a new light altogether .

In the letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4 , we hear this important explanation:

7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift….11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Is it too much of a stretch to say that the equipping that we are to be doing for one another- or as the Scripture puts it- the equipping that the Spirit of Jesus is doing through us- is the same as the equipping that the Soviet Union did for Cuba or the U.S. for Israel ? One of the great similarities is that in the national sense and in the more personal sense that the book of Ephesians is pointing towards , both parties collude together . Both parties agree to enter into this arrangement, because both parties believe that in the long run it is to their own benefit .

So, what do we Christians attain by colluding with Jesus to equip one another for the work of ministry , for the building up of the body of Christ ? Well, surely there are all those practical advantages: you teach well , you have a prophetic word , and you have the gift of hospitality . By equipping one another , in various ministries , we get the work done we have to do more efficiently . But were that the real reason why the book of Ephesians calls us in this direction , we might as well have called in a business guru such as Peter Drucker or Stephen Covey. I believe that something much deeper spiritually is going on here, something that totally transcends what each of those nation al equippings were after .

Listen again:

4:15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Now let's get very specific. Coming out of our Claim the Future planning late spring and early summer, we have identified some incredibly exciting new education, nurture and outreach directions that we want to grow into as a congregation. These are truly inspirational! And after considerable prayer and plenty of good conversation on the possibilities, the great consensus that we have experienced as a congregation is a powerful sign that the Spirit is truly calling us in these directions, that these directions contain the seeds of God’s intended new growth here.

Well, now that we’ve identified these directions and goals, will these just happen? Of course not! Nothing of importance in the spiritual sphere simply, passively, happens. God’s work is done through our hands and our commitments as we allow ourselves to be used for ministry.

Give something new a try. Use the church directory and contact a leader in an area that might be your calling…. Call him or her. Or call me or any of our ministers or church officers. We’ll be very pleased to encourage your next steps.

Stretch yourself a bit. Ligaments do that, you know. Scripture indicates that your own spiritual well-being depends on your willingness to step out in faith and give God a chance to open new vistas in your life.

Remember Juanita Castro? She decided to step back out of the limelight, out of the challenge and just let things get along without her. I don’t know what difference a sister could have made in her brother’s evolution, but I have a hunch she should have tried. God’s world will be fulfilled, will approach the Kingdom of God, only as each of us picks up our own charge and heads faithfully out in mission. Let’s get equipped. Let become knit together. Let’s live out the high and so fulfilling call to be – TOGETHER- Christ’s disciples.

University Christian Church

2007 University Avenue

Austin, TX 78705

512-477-6104

Equipped and Knit Together

Pentecost, B, August 3, 2006

Eph. 4:1-16

But, note: Cuba did not survive alone . At key points along the way over the last half-century, the sponsorship of the Soviet Union equipped the struggling island nation to withstand the prevailing movement of history , leaving communism behind.

In the letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4 , we hear this important explanation:

Listen again:

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. And then,

Equipped and Knit Together

Pentecost, B, August 3, 2006

Eph. 4:1-16

But, note: Cuba did not survive alone. At key points along the way over the last half-century, the sponsorship of the Soviet Union equipped the struggling island nation to withstand the prevailing movement of history, leaving communism behind.

In the letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4, we hear this important explanation:

Listen again:

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. And then,

But, note: Cuba did not survive alone . At key points along the way over the last half-century, the sponsorship of the Soviet Union equipped the struggling island nation to withstand the prevailing movement of history , leaving communism behind.

In the letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4 , we hear this important explanation: