During closing worship at the Moderators’ Conference, the Co-Moderators and those gathered answer emphatically, ‘Everyone needs Jesus’
by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service
The Co-Moderators of the 226th General Assembly, the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson, led two worship services in the Chapel at the Presbyterian Center during last week’s Moderators’ Conference. (Photo by Rich Copley)
LOUISVILLE — On Saturday, the Moderators’ Conference closed just as it had opened on Friday — with worship led by the Co-Moderators of the 226th General Assembly, the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson, with Armstrong offering up a sermon she titled, “Who Needs Jesus?”
Armstrong preached on Psalm 23 and Matthew 9:18-26, the latter an account of a girl restored to life and a woman healed from a flow of blood she’d been enduring for 12 years.
In the Matthew text, “We can determine who really needs Jesus,” Armstrong preached. “We find a crowd surrounding him because of his ability. It’s the churched and the unchurched, believers and skeptics, followers and naysayers.” In Luke’s account of the healing, Jesus is “surrounded by disciples who act as Jesus’ bodyguards. They shield Jesus from connecting with those who are truly in need. I hope you can say you’re not bodyguards of Jesus,” Armstrong told new moderators and vice-moderators of presbyteries and synods from across the country. “As moderators, you won’t have time for that.”
“We find Jesus at work here, doing everything that helps to restore life,” Armstrong said. Why would Jairus, the synagogue leader, fall at Jesus’ feet and beg for his assistance? “Jairus is a leader in the synagogue, and Jesus is a controversial figure,” she noted. “Never mind the whole village will see this leader of the synagogue at Jesus’ feet. Forget the fact his reputation will be damaged. This man’s daughter lay dying. Everything that had been important the day before was of no consequence at all. His faith keeps him at Jesus’ side. He is in need of Jesus.”
The people around Jesus thought the woman with the issue of blood “had no place near Jesus. Why was she willing to risk it all? It’s her perception of Jesus and what Jesus can do that drives her ambition,” Armstrong said. Her fear of touching Jesus and thus making him unclean “keeps her from confronting Jesus outright. Since she is insignificant in the eyes of others, she figures she is insignificant in the eyes of Christ.”
She decides, maybe I’ll just reach out and touch the hem of his cloak.
“He doesn’t act with disgust,” Armstrong said. “He gives her time and attention, and that publicizes her healing.”
The gospel accounts feature “one who’s high and mighty and this total outcast — both of them in need of Jesus,” Armstrong said.
At some point, all of us can be considered outcasts. We can be the naysayers, or the one who has suffered the loss of life itself, Armstrong said. “Whoever we are in the story, we must remember that Jesus helps us all — disciples, Jairus, the woman with the issue of blood. There’s hope for those who laugh” because “Jesus helps restore the daughter to life merely by waking her up.”
“Who really needs Jesus? Everyone needs Jesus,” Armstrong said, inviting those in worship to repeat those final three words. “Everyone needs what Jesus has to offer: healing, hope, a healthy lifestyle, money in your pocket and meaning in your movement. Show me your hands: Who needs Jesus? If your neighbor’s hand isn’t up, nudge your neighbor,” she suggested.
What we miss out on in the text is what happened after Jesus’ healing and restorative work. “Was Jairus removed from his pious position? None of that matters anymore, because his daughter is alive. He needed Jesus, and Jesus made it all right,” Armstrong said. “The woman, her face becomes the poster for touching Jesus. Her testimony is, she needed Jesus, and Jesus made it all right.”
“We don’t know how long the daughter lived,” Armstrong said, “but her life was one of service and proclamation. I imagine her testimony is she didn’t even know she needed Jesus, and Jesus made it all right.”
“We do, however, know about the disciples, and how Jesus continued to prepare them,” Armstrong said, gesturing toward the prepared communion table in the Presbyterian Center Chapel. “At this table, Jesus is the restorer of life.”
“By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are all here,” she said.
“Who needs Jesus?” Larson asked when it came time to administer the communion elements. “I don’t know if I’ve ever stood in a more Presbyterian place. Some of us feel like we’re not worthy, but Jesus invites us to this table to receive all of him.”
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.