[i] Romans 1:16
July 4, 2004; Proper 9, Year C
The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector
The Fourth of July, the birthday of our nation and a day of parades, parties, and fireworks. Two hundred and twenty-eight years ago the Second Continental Congress by adopting The Declaration of Independence escalated the conflict between the American colonies and England that would lead to war and ultimately our independence. In the excitement of our festivities this weekend, the cost of our independence is all but lost. It was only as the people in the colonies pulled together and were willing to sacrifice every thing for freedom that it was actually gained. It is that very freedom, earned with the sweat and blood of our ancestors that we too often take for granted today.
The same is true of Christianity. As we gather each Sunday in our beautiful church it is easy to take for granted our freedom from the consequences of sin. I won’t say that we forget the price that was paid by Jesus on the cross for our salvation, but I think that most of us do not fully comprehend the sacrifice. In the case of Jesus it was more than just an ideal, it was the direct giving of his life so that not only his disciples and friends could have eternal life, but all people who respond to his offer would be cleansed of their sins and inherit the kingdom of God. But Christianity would have died within a century or two if it had not been for the sacrifice of his followers. Their willingness to die for who they believed in was like adding fuel to the fire, making the Christian faith a transforming agent in the world.
Like our fight for independence, Christianity is dependent upon the multitudes. While Thomas Jefferson wrote the original draft of the Declaration of Independence and George Washington was the general of the army and our first president, independence depended upon the people and their willingness to fight for their freedom. While Jesus gained our salvation alone, he depends upon his followers to carry the message of salvation to others.
Quite often when we picture Jesus walking from town to town, we see him with his twelve disciples walking down a dusty road. Little thought is given that there might be others tagging along. Well, our Gospel reading from Luke this morning informs us that there was a group of at least seventy others who are a part of his entourage. Day after day they followed, listening and watching, absorbing everything they heard and saw. Then one day Jesus turned to them and said, you, and you, and you … until he had picked seventy of them out of the crowd … you are to go ahead of me into the towns and villages and tell the people about me so that when I get there, they will be ready for me. They didn’t even raise their hands to volunteer for this assignment.
It is like playing the lottery. You know that you have a chance to win, but the odds are against you. So it was with these followers. They must have felt safe in following Jesus, knowing that they were not part of that select group of twelve disciples that had to go out on occasion and “witness” to others about their master.
In the shock of being picked by Jesus, I am sure that more than one said, “But wait a minute Jesus, I won’t know what to say.” That’s easy responded Jesus, tell them I sent you and say, “Peace to this house!” “Oh, and by the way, don’t bother to pack a suitcase or take any food with you. Also you can leave your billfolds and purses with me, you won’t need any money or credit cards. God, will provide.”
Can you imagine if I were to pick out seventy of you today and tell you that right after church you were to go out knocking on doors to tell people about Jesus and St. Philip’s? Your response might be, “Over my dead body!”
In reality, knocking on doors is not the Episcopal way of doing evangelism. We would rather make up pretty folders about our church and place them in restaurants, the Chamber of Commerce, or resorts, than knock on doors.
From the very beginning Christianity has been a missionary religion. The seventy, like Jesus, and many others after them, sought out those who had not yet heard the message, of the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. Yet, the missionary zeal of the church over the centuries has waxed and waned. Almost invariably, when they have quote “circled the wagons” to defend themselves from the world and outsiders, rather that going out to share the message, churches become more like a museum than a church of Jesus Christ.
Are churches destine to become like the once great lighthouses that dot the shores of the Great Lakes, obsolete, as they are replaced by GPS, the Global Positioning System? Will they become museums or be abandon as useless centers of faith for a bygone era?
I don’t think so! That is unless God chooses another way to bring people to him. And I believe that will only occur if we, the church, forget why we exist.
Bishop Jim Fry, retired Bishop of Colorado, used to go across America on preaching and teaching missions. The one I attended was, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.” A phrase originally coined by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans.[i] Bishop Fry was preaching for a recovery of the missionary zeal of the Church. He said that we have lost the sense that we have something that other people desperately need.
That is what motivated the New Testament Church. The apostles and their successors truly believed that salvation was only possible through Jesus Christ. Unless … until … we recover that same passion to share the Gospel, unashamedly, we are not fulfilling our mission as the apostolic church of Jesus Christ.
Could it be that the reason we don’t evangelize is that we are uncertain or ashamed of what we say we believe? What if we’re wrong? What if Jesus was a lie?
All I know is that my life has changed because of Jesus Christ. And it has changed for the better. If Jesus is a lie, it’s a pretty good one. He has transformed my life and given me hope in despair. And his church, the people, have been there for me, to pray with me, to walk with me in times of distress, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We as Episcopalians may struggle with the concept of being called to be missionaries or evangelist. We may feel ill equipped to share the Gospel even with our families. But it does not exempt us from the responsibility of sharing what we have received. For we are the church, an integral part of God’s plan to get out the message of salvation for all people.
[i] Romans 1:16