"Walking Together" Synod Sunday

Charles Plumb was a Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb... "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything, because you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

So friends, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Charles Plumb pointed out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Who is packing YOUR parachute? Have you recognized them? Have you thanked them? Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we may fail to say hello, please, or thank you. We may fail to congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, to encourage them, to compliment them, or just to do something nice. Friends, let’s recognize those who pack our parachutes!

Who’s packing your PHYSICAL parachute? Who puts food on your table and a roof over your heads? Who makes sure that you have a school to go to so you can one day survive on your own? Who gives you rides when you need them and helps you pay bills? Who employs you? Who are the clients supporting your company? You have several people helping pack your physical parachutes. Acknowledge them. Thank them. Treat them with love.

Who’s packing your MENTAL parachute? Who is teaching you how to read and write? Who is mentoring you? Who are you learning from? Who is that person that takes care of the details for you that makes it possible for you to do your job? Who is the one reminding you of important things? Recognize them. Acknowledge them. Thank them! Love them.

Who’s packing your EMOTIONAL parachute? Who is the one who picks you up when you are down? Who is your encourager? Who do you confide in when you have troubles? Who cheers you up? Who inspires you? Who coaxes you onward when life is difficult? Who is your shoulder to cry on? Don’t just go to that person when you have a problem. Remember them when things are going well! Acknowledge them for the help they give. Love them. Thank them.

And Who’s packing your SPIRITUAL parachute? Who reminds you of how much God loves you through Jesus? Who builds up your faith with God’s Word? Who prays for you? Who prays with you? Who encourages you as you worship together? Who rebukes you when you are sliding off the path a bit? Who disciplines you because they love you so much, and want you to remember God does too? Who comforts you with the good news of forgiveness in Jesus?

Friends, I would say that you have quite a few who pack your spiritual parachutes! Our text from 3 John tells about a man named Gaius, a devoted Christian. The apostle John is praying for him, thanking God for him, and rejoicing over him because Gaius was housing, taking care of, and showing hospitality to his fellow servants of Jesus Christ. Gaius was packing their parachutes. He was making it possible for them to do their jobs and move God’s kingdom forward. He was “walking in the truth” because he was doing this out of love and appreciation for his Savior. And he was “working together for the truth” because his role made it possible for these servants of God to carry out their role of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

So who is packing your spiritual parachutes? Who has nourished your faith in the Lord Jesus? Your parents? Hopefully. I pray that your parents have, and still do, consider it their most important responsibility to lead you to Jesus as your Savior. By praying together at home, teaching you about Jesus, modeling family devotions, and exhibiting a Christ-like life. Maybe your friends have been packing that parachute. Maybe a friend was the one that led you to Christ. Thank God for these people! Don’t take them for granted. Thank them personally!

Hopefully your local congregation is helping to “pack your spiritual parachute.” I pray that Cross of Life is helping you on your spiritual journey by making you uncomfortable with your sinful life, and comfortable with the good news of forgiveness through Jesus. I pray that through the teaching, preaching, and encouragement of the people sitting next to you, the message of the cross and the empty tomb is changing your life and filling it with joy and hope. Appreciate your local congregation! Thank God for the people He has gathered together here to lift you up and help your faith in Jesus grow.

But there is also a larger group of people that are packing your spiritual parachute. You see, Cross of Life wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for these people. Just as Charles Plumb would never even have made it past that mid-air explosion, I would not be speaking to you today if it wasn’t for a bunch of people walking together with us. I am talking about our synod. The WELS. Synod means “walking together.” Walking together in faith. Walking together in a common purpose. The same bond that united Gaius and the Apostle John. You and I are joined by almost half a million people around the world who have gone through the same Bible instruction we have, confessed the same faith in Jesus we have, and share the same mission we are on. And these people are walking together with us right now and packing our chutes!

We’ve been blessed by the Synod we walk together with. How? Let’s start with financial support. Our brothers and sisters in the faith have and still do pay for most of our ministry costs here. We would never have been here without their dollars and gifts. How about our personnel? Your two full-time called workers were equipped in the synod’s worker training system, getting an education worth much more than what was paid for it. And over half of the cost of that is financed by the WELS. And what about the materials we use? So many of the books, worship helps, ministry helps, and Bible education materials have been developed by the wisdom, experience, and resources of our brothers and sisters who have been doing this for a while.

Then there are the intangibles: the things we can’t see. These might be the most valuable. Prayer. Cross of Life and the other WELS mission churches across the world have been in the ceaseless prayers of our congregations and people. Do you have any idea how many people are praying for you? People across the world are praying that God will use us to open the hearts of the people here in our community with the Gospel. People have been “packing our parachutes” with their prayers as long as we have been here!

Friends, because we belong to a synod, a “walking together” of people who are committed to the true Word of God and His wonderful grace, we have been able to reach out to 52 countries in 23 world mission fields, reach out in love with countless ministries of mercy, disaster relief, education, and counseling. We have been able to train pastors, staff ministers, and teachers to equip our people for service. Through God’s help and grace, we have been able to be a big part of Jesus’ mission to make disciples throughout the world.

Let’s thank the Lord for these amazing blessings He has given us through our synod! Let’s thank Him for the wonderful heritage that has been passed on to us from our brothers and sisters – that of keeping God’s Word important. Let’s thank Him that He has preserved his Word through faithful people – a Word that brings us more joy than guilt.

And let’s thank our synod, our brothers and sisters in faith, for packing our parachute. For making it possible for us to be here and be alive. Let’s not take them for granted. Let’s not just ask how we can get more from them. Let’s thank them with our prayers. With our service. And today, let’s thank them with a few of our dollars, too. Because now, our synod needs US to help THEM by packing their parachute. They’re falling and need our help. We need our help!

Most importantly, let’s work together and walk together with them. There were two ladies living in a convalescent center. Each suffered an incapacitating stroke. Margaret’s stroke left her left side restricted, while Ruth’s stroke damaged her right side. Both of these ladies were accomplished pianists but had given up hope of ever playing again. But the director of the center sat them down at a piano and encouraged them to play together. They did, and a beautiful friendship developed. What a picture of the church’s need to work together! What one member cannot do alone, perhaps two or more could do together—in harmony! Walking Together!

But friends, NONE of this would be possible if ONE in particular hadn’t “packed our parachute.” That’s right, each one of us was falling. Falling to our death. But someone gave us a parachute. Someone saved us from harm. He took away the deadly consequences of our sin by paying for it on the cross. He gave us the credit for his perfect life! He gave us a parachute that couldn’t fail. And He didn’t allow us to land in enemy territory, either. He crushed our enemy! We softly land on the ground of his love and grace. We now find ourselves on firm foundation of his Word and promise. The promise of eternal life with Him through Jesus. God has packed our eternal parachutes – the ones that really matter! They will never fail! Let’s remember to thank Him for the gift of walking together with Him forever! Amen.

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