Preached at St. John’s Lancaster 7 April 2013
John 20:19
The Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ faces some pretty serious problems today. For Example:
2. In March, Kuwaiti officials visiting in Saudi Arabia asked Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia (a government official), “what should we do about Christian churches in our country?” He said, “There should be no Christian churches on the Arabian peninsula.” Wow again! I guess I’ll call up my old State department links from the Army days and see what can be done about this. Wait a minute. I don’t have any links at the State Department, and I never did. I guess there’s nothing I can do about this one either.
3. Lets do one more: About a year ago, the Roman Catholic student organization at Vanderbilt University announced that they would be leaving campus because of a University policy which requires that the student leadership of all organizations on campus must be open to any student, even if that student does not share the beliefs or lifestyle of the organization. Wow! I guess I’ll write the alumni association at Vandy. But wait a minute, I didn’t go to school there. I’m not even a Methodist anymore. And I don’t think they talk to Sewanee grads ever since that great football cheer written specifically for a big game against the Commodores, “Up with the Christians, Down with the Heathen, Yea, Sewanee’s right!” I guess there’s nothing I can do about this one either. That’s zero for three. One for three wouldn’t be bad in a baseball game, but zero for three is even bad in baseball, where overweight millionaires delight old guys like me.
So what are we to do as Christians? As I was reading the first verse in our Gospel lesson today, I began to ask myself that question. It says that the disciples were shut up in a room “for fear of the Jews.” In short, unlike the women in the story, the guys where holed up because they thought they were going to be arrested, and maybe they were. I asked myself how I would have acted in their shoes. And then I realized that the question was all wrong. I should be asking myself what I was doing now, in my shoes. The heart of the matter is not what I might do in some imaginary situation, or some situation like the three which I outlined above, where I can’t make a difference. The heart of the matter is what I do everyday, and every week to show people that I have met Jesus and that he has made a difference in my life. I came up with a short list of suggestions which work for me. I thought some of them might work for you as well.
2. Or, I could indicate publicly that I really do think about him as I go through my day, by bowing my head for prayer before a meal or by signing myself with the cross and praying when I hear a siren.
3. I could read the Bible every day, and when it said something contrary to how I live or how I believe, I could change what I am doing or believing and live in conformity to the Bible.
4. I could prioritize Church, even if it meant telling a friend or business associate or coach or family member, “No I’m sorry, I can’t be there until about 9:45 because I need to go to Church on Sunday.” (A caveat here: I realize that some employers don't give us the option. I'm not talking about that. I'm taling about where we can make a difference.)
5. I could put the teachings of Jesus before the considerations of class, or party, or group, or self-interest, or property, or my notions of justice and fairness and equality, when I vote.
6. I could swallow my pride and tell a person I’ve wronged “I’m sorry,” and pray that God might use that start to rebuild our relationship. (Another caveat here- I don’t think it’s a good idea to go around saying “I’m sorry” when you’ve not done anything wrong. That is dishonest, and just plays into the self-centeredness of lots of people who seem to thrive on being offended about their cause of the week.)
7. I could give sacrificially of my time, talents, money, and real property to advance the work of God’s kingdom as defined in the Bible.
8. I could be honest, yet respectful and loving in my discussions of issues with people, instead of being cunning, or duplicitous, or spiteful, or manipulative, or cynical.
9. I could be logical and controlled instead of running on emotions and feelings when I deal with other people.
10. I could avoid sources of information which I know seek to keep me in crisis mode and have been known to specialize in half truths or worse. And I could seek to verify the truth of things before I go about spreading stories around the internet.
This should give you a pretty good idea of what I think I might consider doing to exhibit my faith in a world where no one pays much attention to me or my religion. It won’t change the world, but I think it might at least provide an example of Christian honesty, and honest godly love in a world where honesty and real godly love are sometimes in short supply. If I were able to do even some of these things with consistency, I do think that people would see more of Jesus in me than perhaps they have seen at some times in my life. Sometimes it is so easy to just bolt the doors to the hiding place and not engage the world that God has made and that we have complicated. Sometimes the reasons for not showing my faith publicly seem to be pretty good, but they are never good enough. Jesus gave his life so that I might be saved from my sins and live my life for him by offering it to others. If I don’t engage the world, if I just drop out and allow my fears to bind me like a chain, I fail to accomplish the mission that Jesus gave me to go into all the world and make disciples. He gave us all that mission. I hope that on this Low Sunday, when your priest did a bit more thinking and a little less research, you will also give some thoughts to how you might share the good news of what Jesus has done for you with a world that is so desperately in need of good examples. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. AMEN.
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