Sermon for Sunday, January 19, 2014 (Second Sunday after Epiphany)
Preacher: Pastor Carrie Smith
"The E-Word"
Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
On Tuesday
night, the Bethany Lutheran Church ministry teams met for the first time in
2014. It was very exciting to see new faces, and to have every table filled
with ideas and energy for the New Year! Thanks be to God for all the ways in
which you, my sisters and brothers in Christ, serve God and others through the
work of this Church. Amen!
There was
one ministry team, of course, that could have used a little love, and that was
the “E-Team”. Some members have gone south for the winter, and some were sick.
But the truth is, even on a good night, this is the ministry table that’s
hardest to fill. While the Finance team is overflowing and actually needs to
expand to more than one table, sometimes the E-Team could do without a table
altogether. This week, they might have been fine with just a chair! We call
this group the “E-Team” for short, I suppose to make people feel more
comfortable about volunteering, but clearly folks are on to our little scheme. They
know that “E” really stands for “Evangelism.”
Ah
yes—Evangelism! Every Lutheran’s favorite subject! In case you think I’m
picking on our church in particular, be assured that ours is not the only
congregation that struggles with lack of excitement about evangelism. It seems
to have become part of our culture as mainline, Protestant Christians to be, at
best, indirect in our evangelism
strategies. The funny thing is, that scary word, “Evangelism”, comes from the
word “Euangelion” which simply means “Good News”. That means that we, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, could conceivably call ourselves the “Good News Lutheran Church in America.”
So why are we, the Good News Church, so uncomfortable sharing the Good News
about Jesus with others?
After all, we
love to share our experiences, epiphanies, and revelations about almost
everything else:
“Oh my gosh,
you HAVE to see that new movie. It was amazing!”
“Have you
been to that new restaurant? The food is just great!”
“Oh, you
have the new iPhone? I prefer Android. Now let me tell you why you should definitely
switch.”
“Have you
tried Weight Watchers? It totally changed my life! You should come with me next
week.”
“Did you
hear that story on NPR this morning? The one about why bananas are radioactive?
Let me tell you about it, even though I can’t remember all the facts and will
probably just make parts of it up.”
“I am
reading the MOST AMAZING book. Let me tell you the entire plot while you’re
trying to get into your car with that bag of groceries.”
We love to
share our thoughts, experiences, and revelations about nearly everything in our
lives. So what is it about our faith in Jesus that makes us want to keep the
news to ourselves?
I suspect
one reason has something to do with our common stereotypes of evangelists,
Bible thumpers, door-to-door salesmen, and missionaries on bicycles. No one likes
to be convinced or debated or interrogated on her doorstep, and therefore no
one wants to be seen as the convincer, the debater, or the interrogator. So,
instead of talking about Jesus to our friends, or inviting someone to church, we
work on making the inside of the church welcoming, comfortable, and attractive,
on the off chance that someone stumbles in here by accident.
Another
reason we might be uncomfortable sharing the Good News is we worry we won’t
know what to say. What if someone asks a question about the Bible or about
Jesus that I can’t answer? What if I offend them? What if I sound silly? Didn’t
someone say it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open our
mouths and remove all doubt?
I can relate
very well to this feeling of not knowing what to say. When I was in seminary
(the first time around, in Minnesota), Robert and I worked as telefundraisers
for the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. We did this for a whole summer, attending
intensive Biblical Greek classes during the day and making fundraising calls in
the evenings. I remember being so nervous to make those calls. What if they
hung up on me? What if I offended them when I asked for money? What if they
asked me something I didn’t know? We had a script we were supposed to stick to,
of course, but that didn’t help to take away the feeling that I was selling
something I knew nothing about, to people I knew nothing about.
And then a
wonderful thing happened: the Guthrie Theater people gave us all free tickets
to attend a production of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” with a champagne
reception beforehand. So Robert and I emerged from our call center cubicles with
the rest of the telefundraising crew, all dressed, and hobnobbed for one night with
the theater crowd. And it was amazing! The actors were great. The show was
hilarious. The theater itself was (and is) a gem in the middle of the city. We
had a great time.
And the next
day, when I got on the phone, things were very different.
“Hello, Mrs.
Anderson? This is Carrie, calling on behalf of the Guthrie Theater. I just saw
the new production of The Importance Being Earnest last night. Have you seen it
yet? Let me tell you, it is just great. The acting, the sets, the theater
itself, are just a treasure for our city. Don’t you agree?”
And this, I
believe, is the secret of evangelism: Stick to what you know. Share only what
you have experienced. Don’t worry about the script—speak from the heart.
This is what John did in the Gospel lesson for
today. The text says John declared, testified, and then exclaimed to anyone who
would listen: “Here is the Lamb of God! That guy over there, he’s the one I’ve
been talking about! Let me tell you how I baptized him, and how I saw the
Spirit come down like a dove, and how even though I didn’t know who he was
before, now I do know him! This Jesus is the One we’ve been waiting for!” Amen!
John had
experienced something at Jesus’ baptism that changed him, and he just had to share it. But notice what
he didn’t do: he didn’t write a dissertation or outline a systematic theology
or debate anyone about what exactly it meant when the Spirit descended on Jesus
like a dove. He didn’t have a script, and he didn’t try to sell anything to
anyone. He simply pointed others in the direction of Jesus and shared what he
knew to be true: “This Jesus is special. And my life is different now that I
know him.”
And then it
was Jesus who took over from there. The next part of today’s Gospel lesson
tells how two disciples who heard John’s testimony started following Jesus.
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he invited them into conversation,
asking: “What are you looking for?” They in turn asked: “Teacher, where are you
staying?” And Jesus said: “Come and see.”
“Come and
see.” It was John who got their attention, but it was Jesus who invited people
to experience the Good News for themselves. It is Jesus, crucified and risen, who
does the real work of evangelism, sisters and brothers. It’s Jesus who calls to
us from Scripture, saying “Come and see the path I have walked.” It’s Jesus who
calls to us from the bread and the wine, saying “Come and see the healing and
forgiveness I have to offer.” It’s Jesus who calls to us from the waters of
baptism, saying “Come and see how much God loves you!”
Perhaps
Evangelism isn’t so scary when we remember that we don’t have to be Jesus – but
we do get to be John!
We get to be
John, sharing our love for God and pointing others to Jesus, who has made all
the difference for us. We get to be John, singing out loud and proud, what we
know to be true: that Jesus Christ, through his teachings, his death, and his
resurrection, has brought us light and life, purpose and joy, healing and
forgiveness like no one else could. Amen!
And so, sisters
and brothers in Christ, it is our right, our duty and our joy, to tell the
story, to share the Good News, to sing songs and write poems and make art and
sew quilts and serve the homeless and participate in international peace talks and
balance the church budget and give hugs and advocate for the poor and forgive
one another and maybe (just maybe) – serve on the Evangelism Team—not so we can
change the minds of others, but because Jesus has changed us. And that is very
Good News, indeed. Amen.
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