The Church of the Redeemer

June 16, 2002

The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

This morning I have decided to bring up the most offensive topic known to the Episcopal Church and that is EVANGELISM.  Now I apologize to anyone I have just offended with my use of this very unepiscopalian word, but like many of those other topics Episcopalians find distasteful discussing in Church like stewardship, mission, Jesus and God, every once in a while it is important that we discuss the topic of Evangelism        It is sad that we approach evangelism with embarrassment and dread, because sharing our relationship with God with others should be anything but dreadful.  As the psalmist says we should be joyful in the Lord . . . and serve the Lord with gladness.  If we are joyful in the Lord and feel positive about our relationship with God and acknowledge that this relationship enhances our lives, wouldn’t we want others to know this?  But for some reason we are afraid to speak openly about our faith with others.  For some reason we are convinced that talking about God is offensive to others.  Perhaps it is because we equate evangelism with the likes of those loud, obnoxious and often closed minded individuals we see on television during the early morning hours when we can’t sleep, or with those rude people on street corners who incessantly want to know if we have been saved. However, what we see on television and on the streets is an extreme end of what evangelism can be when it has run amuck. What Evangelism is, is the simple and respectful sharing of the story of Christ, the Good News, with others.  It is as simple as telling a friend why you go to church on Sunday mornings or how believing in God has enhanced your life.  What’s so offensive about that?  We freely tell people when others have helped us out, or what movies and books we enjoyed or we even openly discuss how good our therapists are. So why wouldn’t we tell people how wonderful it is to have God in our lives?  

            Another reason we often shy away from evangelism is because we don’t think we know enough.  Somehow we believe that we need a Masters in Divinity before we qualify to talk about God.  Or we think that we need to be some sort of super Christian in order to effectively discuss God.  But if we looked at the original evangelist, the twelve disciples, those twelve men who made it into the Biblical Hall of fame as spiritual giants, we find that they were no more spiritually or academically greater than we are. In fact, as we examine these twelve individuals closely, one might question the strength of Christ’s judgment in these matters. Think about it, none of these men had a seminary education or experience in communications.  Some of them were fishermen and one a tax collector.  They were not exactly spiritual giants, or solid in their faith.  Most only had a faint understanding of what Christ’s message.  But these are the twelve men Jesus sent out to tell the world that the Kingdom of God was close at hand.  They were simple, common folk like Peter, a fisherman who, like a puppy, was fiercely loyal to Jesus.   He was the first to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah and then displayed his ignorance when he forbade Christ the crucifixion. He is the one who refused to allow his master to wash his feet, and the same loyal disciple who denied his association with Christ soon after Jesus was arrested.  Then there was Thomas, despite being told by Jesus that he would be crucified then rise from the dead, Thomas refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he had actually had the opportunity to place his hands in Christ’s wounds.  Like so many of us, Thomas was a very concrete person who needed to know before he could believe. Finally there was Judas Iscariot, the one who betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

             If we were to continue to work our way down the list we would continue to find that the twelve Jesus sent out to proclaim his message were certainly not people we would have chosen.  But these are the twelve men; the twelve people who represent the twelve tribes of Israel, who blundered and tripped as they journeyed with Christ.  Despite their blunders and screw-ups, Jesus still chose them to tell the world that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Not chosen because they had super human powers, or were extraordinarily strong in their faith or were especially proficient in their understanding of the message, but chosen because they had found joy in serving the Lord and said yes when Christ called them to share in his ministry.

            Knowing these people as we do, one can imagine how nervous and scared the twelve must have felt when Christ told them to GO with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and the sandals on their feet.  It must have been that same feeling we all felt when our parents dropped us off for the first time at summer camp, or a new boarding school. It is that feeling of complete vulnerability to the elements and dependence on the kindness of strangers. It seems cruel that Christ sent these twelve out feeling ill equipped and ill prepared, but then again we always feel that way when we try something our for the first time.  In actuality, they had everything they needed, a sense of God’s love in their hearts and a willingness to share this joy with others.

            Tomorrow, twelve of our young people will be leaving on their mission trip to Puerto Rico.  Unlike the disciples they will be allowed to bring a suitcase filled with the essentials of teen life, like hair dryers, diskmen and flip-flops. And unlike the disciples, because they are our children we know they are the brightest, the best and as Garrison Keeler says about the children of Lake Wobegone, all above average.  But in many ways they are like the disciples.  They all are feeling a little nervous and unsure about themselves.  They are willing to travel into an unknown place where most of the people they will encounter will not our language.  They know where they will be staying but they still will have to depend on the kindness and care of strangers for food and comfort.  And while they will be armed with hair dryers, and disk men, they too will be equipped with little more than themselves and their desire to serve God when ministering to the people of Barrinas. 

Their primary task in Barrinas will be to repaint the chapel that has fallen into disrepair in the last years.  But the message they will be conveying through their words and actions will be more than this.  Their mere presence will serve as a tangible reminder that the isolated village of Barrinas, a village that contains a small cell of the Body of Christ is divinely connected with the greater church, even with a church as far away as Boston.  Our presence will remind these wonderful people that despite having been devastated by hurricanes in recent years, God has not forgotten them and from the rubble new life continues to emerge for their chapel as well as their community.  And through this experience our young people will understand why the psalmist finds it joyful to serve the Lord.  All this will happen, not because our young people are in any way especially prepared mentally or spiritually for this trip, but because they know that they believe in Christ and are willing to share the joy that God’s love gives them with others.

            God has called twelve young people to proclaim the Good News in a foreign land.  God called twelve common men to be the first to proclaim the Good News in ancient Israel. And God calls each of us at Baptism to proclaim the Good News in our neighborhoods, at our jobs and in our clubs.  We will not know the results of our young peoples’ experience until their return on the 26^th, but we do know the results of the apostles’ first mission trip.  In St. Mark’s telling of this story we learn the Apostles returned having cured the sick and having caste out unclean spirits.  One can imagine that they were quite amazed at what they were able to accomplish, and excited at going out again to continue the work they had started.  We will never know the results of our own experience until we are willing to get over our own nervousness and fear, willing to overcome our blushing every time we utter the words Jesus and Christ in public. We will never know the joy the disciples felt until we are able to accept the fact that we are as prepared mentally and spiritually as they were.  And we will never be willing to proclaim the gospel until we acknowledge in our hearts and minds that the best news we can tell somebody is the Good News, that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Amen

The Rev. Craig R. Swan

Return to the Sermons Page