Extraordinary!
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost - July 4, 2010
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Please note: The following sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him. |
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Last Sunday evening we prepared and sent out 22 members of the parish, each of whom has selected two other households of the parish to visit sometime in the next month or so. Some may be ill, others may be lonely, some may be drifting away from the parish, and still others are simply members with no particular question or problem needing attention. What will happen because the visitors have been sent out? We don't know...we'll wait and see how God will take these efforts and work them into his plans. We don't know; we may be surprised. The seventy returned with joy, Luke reports, Lord , in your name even the demons submit to us!” What an unexpected surprise! They had been sent out with the commission to tell anyone who would listen that The Kingdom of God has come near to you. Nothing there about casting out demons, but that seems to be one of the things that happens when the Kingdom of God is announced. The demons just cannot stand even the sound of it. What an extraordinary event, and even more so because these are quite ordinary people, not ones from whom such things might be expected.
A newly baptized adult, one who was just learning what might be expected as a Christian, didn't wait for the full course of instruction and preparation. This neophyte made sure that the rest of the family was present for the milestone events, in hopes that some of what had sparked enthusiasm in one would be caught by others. Welcome to surprising life in the church. What an extraordinary event, and even more so because these are quite ordinary people, not ones from whom such things might be expected.
Anyone would have thought that the couple was drifting away from the church. They were around, but never said much. But what few knew was that the wife had been invited to join an ongoing Bible study, and after sampling it awhile decided to make it a priority. This particular study takes time and preparation and prayer, and the wife plunged into it, and discovered that she liked it, and was growing in knowledge and faith. And when her spouse took sick, instead of being overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problem, she turned to the resources of faith and prayer that she had been learning, and garnered the support of her new friends in the faith, and put all of these resources to work in the difficult situation. Of course there are times of sadness and tears, but there is a calmness of spirit which would not have been there before she had started that study. Welcome to surprising life in the church. What an extraordinary event, and even more so because these are quite ordinary people, not spiritual athletes from whom such things might be expected.
I remember visiting the Armenian Orthodox cathedral in Jerusalem. As with other churches that manage to survive under the rule of the old Muslim Turkish empire, the exterior of the building is nondescript. The interior may be magnificent, but they were not permitted to show anything of the faith on the outside of the structure. Next to the entry there was a heavy wood plank hanging, with a mallet beside it. What is this? we inquired. The Muslims would not permit the Armenian Christians to have bells to call people to prayer, so they discovered that a certain piece of wood when cured properly, can make a distinctive and far-carrying sound. So they developed a rhythm and technique for pounding on this plank in such a way that the people throughout the neighborhood could hear and recognize what was happening and its importance. They have managed to hang on, despite enormous pressures to give up the faith Welcome to surprising life in the church. What an extraordinary development, and even more so because these are quite ordinary people, not ones from whom such persistence might be expected.
In late spring we watched the recent movie about Father Damien and his work in the leper colony in Hawaii in the 1880's. His bishop had asked for volunteers to serve on that remote and quarantined island of Molokai, and he was the only one who responded. He had been asked to stay for a few weeks, and not to touch anyone. He went and stayed the rest of his life, and embraced those suffering people figuratively and physically. He was tireless in his advocacy for better treatment and conditions for the sufferers, and had some success in changing the situation there. Eventually the disease caught him, and he died on Molokai 50 years before the medicines were developed that now can control and cure leprosy. What a remarkable and moving story it is. Welcome to surprising life in the church. What an extraordinary person, and even more so because Father Damien seemed like a quite ordinary person, not one from whom such things might be expected.
Throughout the history of the church, it has been ordinary people who have continued to do extraordinary things in the name of Jesus. Here is a lengthy quotation from the early centuries, where the writer expresses his amazement at what these ordinary people do: Christians cannot be distinguished from the rest of humanity by country or language or customs. They do not separate themselves into cities of their own; they use no special language, not do they follow an eccentric pattern of life. Their doctrine, unlike that of many religious movements, is not based on human ideas or philosophy. Although they live in Greek or barbarian cities, depending upon their place of birth, and follow the usual customs if those cities, they never cease to witness to the reality of another city in which they live. They share everything as citizens, yet endure everything as aliens. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and yet for them every fatherland is a foreign land. They busy themselves on earth but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the law of the land, but in their own lives go far beyond the laws' requirements. They love all people, and by all people are persecuted. They are dishonored, and in their dishonor are glorified; they are relived and yet they bless. All the time those who hate them find it impossible to justify their hatred. To put it simply: What the soul is in the body, that Christians are in the world. [Quoted in Speaking of Jesus, Richard Lischer, Phl: Fortress, 1992]
Welcome to surprising life in the church. What an extraordinary description, and even more so because these are otherwise quite ordinary people, not ones from whom such things might be expected. We notice also that the description is not just of a singular individual, but is the description of Christians in general. They are the leaven that transforms the world, and they are as surprised as anyone could be, that their individual stories of faithfulness have been taken and woven together by the Lord Jesus into the tapestry of the whole family of God. The seventy returned with joy, Luke reports, surprised at the results of their work. “I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning,” Jesus responds. The seemingly little things that you and I can do are a bigger deal than any of us can imagine.
This evening a number of us will be offering hospitality to the passing crowd right outside our building. In addition to the patriotic program here in the nave, out on the street we'll be offering popcorn, hotdogs, water, and treats, and also excess library books and surplus Sunday School stories and materials. All of it to be offered without cost or obligation to anyone who passes by. What will happen? I don't know. This side of heaven, we may never fully know. But we bother with it all because we trust that the Lord God will take our little efforts and use them somehow for the life of the Kingdom of God.
Welcome to surprising life in the church. What an extraordinary possibility, and even more so because we are ordinary people, and don't think of ourselves as ones from whom such things might be expected. Now we sing it this way: Church of God, elect and glorious... Know the purpose of your calling, Show to all his mighty deeds; Tell of love that knows no limits. Let them feel a Father's care; That they too might know his welcome And his countless blessings share. HS-98, #864, St1,3] Amen
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