Episodes
Sunday Sep 11, 2016
Go and BE
Sunday Sep 11, 2016
Sunday Sep 11, 2016
A sermon preached by
Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry United Methodist Church, September 11,
2016.
Texts: Matthew 10:40-42
Today we kick off a new focus that will guide our reflections for worship, study, and service over the course of the next twelve months. The title is “Next: Witness.” There is a lot of baggage that the word “witness” lugs around these days. But it’s too central to the practice of Christian faith for us not to try to unpack it and discover what it means—and doesn’t mean—to be a witness for Christ. In these days when hate and fear try to claim the name “Christian” it is important for us to be clear about what a faithful Christian witness really is. There’s no way to do that in a handful of minutes on one Sunday. So we’re going to spend the next year really trying to go deeper to discover how we can try to live as witnesses without sacrificing our intellect or our integrity. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a high level look at three aspects witnessing: being, seeing, and sharing. And over the coming months, we’ll get into these things on a more micro level. I hope you will come along for this journey.
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We say it at Baptism. Some say it before and after prayer. What does it mean? What does it mean when Jesus speaks of welcoming someone “in the name of a prophet” or “in the name of a righteous person?” There are two primary responses. First, to say or do something in the name of someone is to act on behalf of that person or by the authority of that person. This is like being an ambassador, a representative of another. In ancient cultures, the link between the representative and the one represented was very close and very strong. In other words, you were to receive the ambassador of a King just as you would receive the King himself. The second meaning of speaking or acting “in the name” of another is to act in a way that embodies the character or nature of the person or group represented. For example, if you speak in the name of the company for which you work, you, in that moment, ARE the company. You are the mouthpiece for the whole organization.
In the verses from Matthew, Jesus is summing up his commission to the 12 disciples. Jesus has given them authority to do the work that he himself does—authority to proclaim the good news of God’s reign, to heal, liberate, and usher in new life (Mt 10:7-8). Jesus has given them their marching orders; Jesus has spoken of the significant challenges they will face as they serve “in his name”—not small challenges either—things like rejection, persecution, arrest, and flogging! And then he makes quite explicit the fact that the disciples are not only carrying a message from Jesus or about Jesus to those they encounter, they are embodying Jesus himself. “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” In other words, the disciples are to live in the world AS Jesus—for as they speak and live in Jesus’ name, others will identify them with Jesus. The disciples carry within them not just a word or an example or a set of teachings, but a PERSON—and those they meet will welcome or reject not just an idea, but that person—namely, Jesus, the Christ of God.
What difference does any of this make to you and me? It doesn’t have to make any difference at all, of course. There are people who claim the name of God or “Christian” without any intention of even trying to discern who God is…without any intention of actually, you know, being Christian; that is, there are plenty of people who take God’s name in vain! But if your desire is to align yourself with the person of Christ, if you’re baptized in the name of the Three-in-One God and want to take that seriously, then these lines of scripture give us some guidance. In short, like the first disciples, we represent not only a set of teachings or an example of a way to live, but the person of Jesus Christ. Our lives, our choices, our actions will tell others something about God, about Jesus. This may seem the most basic of Christian teachings, but I wonder whether we sometimes forget. We ARE witnesses for Jesus—for better or for worse. You will have heard the saying that “your life is the only Gospel some will ever read.” I’d add that “you are the only Christ that some people will ever meet.” No pressure!
If this seems overwhelming or off-putting, I suggest two things that may help: first, to be Christ in the world doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to try to be someone you’re not, but rather, perhaps, it means you allow who you are—in all your particularity—to be shaped, led, guided, stretched by the witness of Jesus who was fueled by nothing other than love of God and love of neighbor; and secondly, we are only able to be Christ in the world in community with others. It is only by all our various gifts coming together that we are able to accomplish the work that Jesus authorizes: to proclaim the good news of God’s reign, to heal, liberate, and usher in new life. A life shaped by the love, mercy, justice, and hope embodied by Jesus and shared in community with others is what we are responsible for embodying in the world. What that means and how to allow our lives to be shaped by the life of Christ will be taken up in sermons and studies throughout the next year. But for today, it is enough to simply be reminded that, as you go to work or school or engage with friends and family, in your priorities for how you spend your time and money, in your reactions to what is going on in the world and in your commitments about what to do, insofar as you claim the name of Christ, you represent Jesus Christ.
But, Lord knows, to say we are speaking or acting “in the name of Jesus” is tricky at best—we all know about those who say they are doing things because God told them to… I grew up in Oklahoma in the shadow of Oral Roberts University in the 70’s and 80’s and from a very young age had this vague curiosity and discomfort with Roberts’ claims about what God told him to do. And so often what people do in the name of God is not only economically or spiritually suspect, but also just weird or downright destructive. “In the name of God” human beings are attacked, excluded, ostracized, and killed. From kamikaze planes to assassinations at Planned Parenthood, we are painfully aware of the horrors done in the name of God; we have quite rightly grown suspicious of anyone who claims to be “doing what God told them to do.”
It makes sense to be cautious and discerning and to critique and concretely challenge any philosophy or policy or theology or spirituality that does harm to others—even if it gets us into trouble. After all, we represent a person who did that! But we are challenged not only to critique others, but to try to discern what God would have us do. And it’s never been an easy task to discern and truly live in the name of God. We read the stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs, the prophets and disciples through the ages and see just how difficult it can be. From Abraham almost killing his son to Solomon building an empire on the backs of slaves to the first disciples’ recurring impulse toward power grabs and violence, we see that even folks who are truly trying to get it right falter and fail. It is rather comforting to know we aren’t the only ones. But that doesn’t mean we have an excuse to abandon our responsibility to try to live and love “in the name of God.” It just means we know it isn’t easy.
As I have thought about this idea of living “in the name of God,” two stadium-rock bands have been howling in my head. U2’s “Pride (In the name of love)”—a song that alludes to Jesus, to Martin Luther King, Jr., and to more non-specific martyrs who gave their lives in the name of love—and who did so with dignity, purpose, and intention. This song celebrates faithful human witness to God and God’s love. The other song on repeat in my mind? From none other than Bon Jovi: “Shot through the heart and you’re to blame…You give love a bad name…An angel’s smile is what you sell, you promise me heaven then put me through hell…” The Church, those of us called “Christian,” have on occasion been rightly accused of giving love a bad name, promising heaven, but putting people through hell, of saying one thing, but doing another. Throughout the teachings of Jesus in Matthew, we are warned against hypocrisy. And we know well enough that hypocrisy turns people away from God and from the Church. Hypocrisy in politics, in our workplaces, in any area of life engenders disappointment, distrust, and disgust. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just focus on the hypocrisy of others? // One reason I don’t have the Christian fish on my car is that my road rage would reveal my hypocrisy on a regular basis! In response to the person who said that he didn’t go to church anymore because “they’re just a bunch of hypocrites” William Sloane Coffin replied, “You bet we are! And there’s always room for one more.” The truth is we’re all hypocrites; we don’t get it right all the time; we miss the point over and again; we don’t speak up or take a stand in all the ways and places we are needed; we don’t know how to discern God’s will; we do harm, do things that give our God a bad name.
The good news is that the name we bear is the name of Jesus, the name of the One who loves us beyond measure, whose goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives! We are forgiven for our failures and given chance after chance because of Christ’s love. We know we won’t represent Christ perfectly. But the invitation—and our responsibility!—is to trust God’s love enough to risk getting it wrong. If we don’t at least try to be Christ, to show Christ in the world, who will? The steadfast love of God liberates us to try to embody the kind of love revealed by Jesus.
That may take some dramatic, public form. But, Jesus teaches, even our small attempts can make all the difference. A kind word, an act of patience and compassion, standing up for someone, holding your tongue when gossip would be fun, sacrificing a more prestigious job for the sake of your family, putting your money where your mouth is, practicing humility when it would be easy to throw your weight around, following a seemingly crazy divine calling, responding—or not!—to a difficult FaceBook post, sacrificing yourself or your comfort or your time for the sake of another, offering even a cup of cold water to a thirsty person. In these and so many other ways, we can go and BE Christ in the world.
And, oh my, doesn’t the world need more Christ? In a world so quick to allow fear to lead to violence and to connect God’s will with that fear and violence, our living in the name of Christ, the very face of love, is not only a nice idea, it is our solemn responsibility. The Christ who dwells in us is our hope and we who dwell in Christ are hope for the world. Go and BE Christ…in the name of love… Amen.
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