2nd Sunday after Epiphany: January 19, 2014

Sermon for Sunday, January 19, 2014 (Second Sunday after Epiphany)

Preacher: Pastor Carrie Smith

John 1:29-42

"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. 

The Lord is My Light and My Salvation

February 12, 2012: 6th Sunday after Epiphany

February 12, 2012: 6^th Sunday after Epiphany

Mark 1:40-45

Preacher: Pastor Carrie Smith

“Control the Message”

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

On the surface, this morning’s Gospel lesson is a nice, feel-good, healing story. It’s the kind of story that could make the evening news—a human interest piece to counteract all the campaign reports and bickering about the economy. “Leper living on the edge of town gets healed by a stranger and is welcomed home by his family. No sign of the visitor with healing powers. More on the News at 10.”

Indeed, we need this kind of Good News today more than ever, and we give thanks that Jesus is our great healer. Jesus completely healed a man of his leprosy, and in the same way he heals us. Jesus heals our hearts, our grief, our guilt, and our relationships. He is the Balm in Gilead that heals the sin-sick soul. He is the healer of our every ill and the light of each tomorrow. He picks us up, turns us around, and puts our feet back on the ground…and I’m so glad Jesus lifted me! Amen?

But there’s something else going on here. There’s something in this particular scene from Jesus’ mission and ministry that seems…strange. The strange part is right there in verses 43-44, where Jesus, after sternly warning the healed man, sends him away saying, “See that you say nothing to anyone.”

Say nothing to anyone! Keep quiet! But wait…aren’t we to go, baptize, and share the Good News? Aren’t we called to participate in God’s mission to the whole world? What was Global Mission Sunday all about, if we’re not supposed to say anything to anyone about Jesus and his power to heal?

It’s hard to imagine Jesus telling a healed man to keep quiet. But then…maybe Jesus had his reasons.

Maybe, for example, he wanted to control the message.

We may not think of Jesus as a control freak, but these days, I often wish he would do a little more micro-managing. There are times when I wish Jesus had a better publicity team and a solid campaign strategy. He needs someone to work on his campaign playlist, for example. After all, if President Obama gets Al Green and Aretha Franklin, and Mitt Romney gets Kid Rock and Toby Keith, why can’t Jesus update his soundtrack a bit? (Some churches are working on it for him, by the way, holding communion services featuring the music of U2 called…wait for it…a “U2-charist”! And there’s even a church in California that holds a Lady Gaga mass.)

…But I digress.

Playlists and soundtracks aside, what really bugs me is how, when a cable news network wants to include the “Christian” perspective, they call on some guy with a suit and tie from Big Bob’s Better Bible Church or the All-American Anti-Outsider Heritage Society to share his thoughts. It drives me nuts to have my faith represented by people who summarize Jesus’ message in bitter sound bites and political positioning. Every time I hear a TV Christian spouting off about who Jesus hates this week, or how following Jesus can make us rich, or why Jesus, given the choice, would have certainly been an American—I just want to say “Jesus! Get a handle on your publicity! Can’t you do something about these spokespeople? Isn’t it time to hire a new campaign manager? Control the message!”

Considering how badly we’ve been known to mangle the mission and message of Jesus Christ, is it any wonder that he’d want to keep the story under wraps? After all, the stuff Jesus did was perfect fodder for gossip and misunderstanding. He didn’t just heal people—he restored relationships and changed whole communities. When Jesus healed this man’s leprosy, for example, he also re-introduced him to his whole life! As a leper, he had likely been living on the edge of town, cut off from everything he knew and loved—but now, because of Jesus, he was free to go back home, hold a job, and be a part of the community once again. This was such a dramatic life over-haul that Jesus had to have known the guy would want to share the news.

But what would he say? How would the story get re-told by his friends? Would they say Jesus was a quack doctor, selling leprosy potions just outside city limits? Would the authorities come and ask for a permit? This could slow down the mission considerably!

And so, it seems, Jesus tried to control the message, sternly warning the man: “DON’T tell anyone about this. Just go home and make an offering to the priest in your village. That’s it. And no interviews!”

But of course, that’s not what happened. The man couldn’t help himself—he did tell his friends. And then they told someone else. And those folks told their friends. The news about Jesus was like one of those YouTube videos of a cat playing with a dishcloth or a teenage boy riding a Big Wheel off his roof: it went viral! Scripture says “he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.”

Jesus may have wanted to control the message, but the thing about the Good News of Jesus Christ is this: it’s good news! And news gets around. But the problem is that once the news about Jesus got around, it was harder for him to teach and preach, to heal and restore, because both the crowds and the authorities watched his every move.

A friend told me about seeing Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in Chicago a few years ago. It seems they wanted to take their kids to the bookstore while in town. But in order to make that happen, the authorities had to close down the street. Then they closed the bookstore and did a security sweep. They then roped off the entrance with those velvety red ropes, and when the Jolie-Pitts family got out of their limousine, they were rushed into the store. All of this so their kids could have the chance to walk among stacks of books, to peruse the selection of Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter, and to experience what most of us would consider to be a normal family activity.

If life is hard for Brad and Angelina, it’s hard to imagine how bad it was for Jesus. He wasn’t just famous—he was infamous. He was infamous because the things he did challenged the status quo, flew in the face of convention, and disrupted the way things used to be. Lepers didn’t come back home, for example. And now, in spite of his attempts to control the message, the word is out—Jesus is a leper-lover.

Writer Anne Lamott wrote: “You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” And it’s true: We have an awful knack for misinterpreting and misrepresenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We use his mission and ministry for our own purposes, shaping his message to fit our agenda. And even when we flock to him, seeking to follow him, looking for healing, we bring our agendas with us. Like the paparazzi crowding around Brad and Angelina, hungry for photos while they are trying be good parents, we come to Jesus assuming we know his purposes.

But time and again, Jesus overwhelms us with his goodness, with his grace, and with his healing. Time and again, even when we come to him with our agendas (and maybe especially then!), Jesus heals and restores us beyond our expectations. It turns out that no matter how we spin it, Jesus’ purposes are always the same. Jesus is always about healing, cleansing, restoring, and making us whole.

The leper who begged for healing received more than he imagined when he was sent back home completely cleansed.

Jairus’ daughter, already thought to be dead, was lifted up by Jesus and sent off to have dinner.

The woman who had a bleeding disorder for twelve years was made well just by touching his coat.

Families are restored, addicts find sobriety, the dying receive peace, and long-held hurts and grudges leave us like the healed man’s leprosy.

But chiefly, we proclaim that the whole world was healed and restored beyond our imagination (and in spite of our agendas), when Jesus Christ, son of God, was sacrificed on the cross for the sake of all.

Like the leper who was cleansed and sent away by Jesus, we too have received new life in Christ. But have you told anyone about it lately? Or are you letting others control the message?

We Lutherans are typically a quiet bunch. We don’t want to seem that we’re pushing our faith on anyone. But the sad result of that silence is that people who need healing remain unwell. Those who linger on the outskirts of society or of polite company never know true welcome and restoration. Those neighbors we don’t want to offend with our “Jesus-talk” wait, just outside the door, for a word of hope or a chance at forgiveness.

What would happen if we shared openly what Jesus has done for us? What would it be like if the story of Jesus’ power to heal and restore—your story, and mine—became the primary voice and face of Christianity today? What if we became Jesus’ new campaign managers, unseating those who would distort the message?

Sisters and brothers, as we approach the season of Lent, I invite you to consider sharing your story as your Lenten discipline. Share the Good News—not so you can grow the church. Not because you love Bethany. But because you love Jesus, and because he’s made a difference in your life. Share your healing story, that others may be healed. Amen.