ACTS 5:12a,17-22,25-29
PSALM 111
REVELATION 1:1-19
JOHN 20:19-31
Sermon – April 18,
2004
The disciples
showed up.
It
was the evening of Easter Sunday. All
but one of the male disciples had been too scared to follow Jesus all the way
to his death on a cross; they were afraid they would be the next to be targeted
by the Romans. Even so, they knew Jesus
had been thoroughly killed, and to their depression over the brutal execution
of their leader was added their shame over their own cowardice in his hour of
greatest need. Even the Beloved
Disciple, who was then at the foot of the cross, was not gloating over
his own courage or “dissing” his colleagues for failing to be there; he was
probably still too overwhelmed by the horror of Good Friday.
Oh,
yes, Mary Magdalene had come and told them that she had seen Jesus and he was
alive, but, well, there’s no record of them believing her.
And
they were still also afraid of the Temple Police, afraid enough to keep the
door locked, as the Gospel says, “for fear of the Jews” – which in John’s
Gospel means “for fear of those Jewish leaders who were opposed to Jesus”, for
all the disciples were also Jews.
Yes,
they were depressed, ashamed and afraid.
But
they still showed up.
People
since then have let far smaller things keep them away from church, but in their
hour of greatest depression, shame and fear, the disciples still showed
up.
So
all of them (except Thomas) were there when the risen Christ suddenly stood
among them.
And the next
Sunday, though their depression was lifted, their shame was forgiven and their
fear was becoming conquered, they showed up again, this time including Thomas.
People since
then have sometimes “blown off” going to church when things were going well
for them, but the disciples did not.
People since then have sometimes thought, “Easter is over (after one
day); why show up again?" But the
disciples did not act like that.
And because
the disciples showed up when they were feeling at their worst and when
they were feeling at their best, all of us were able to hear the Good
News of Jesus Christ: the offer of forgiveness of sins in his Name, strength
and guidance from the Holy Spirit among all the challenges and opportunities of
our lives, the invitation for membership in a community of faith in which
everyone is supposed to be cherished as a priceless person made in the image of
God and the hope for eternal life.
That’s Good
News, and just the highlights of it.
And some people in our century as well are hungrier for Good News
than they are for food. So who is there
to tell them?
The disciples
aren’t here on earth any more. Neither
are St. Nicholas, or St. Francis, or Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa.
I guess it’s up
to us.
Jesus said to
his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” If we are the heirs of the men and women who
followed Jesus in his earthly ministry and gathered again after his death to
witness and receive strength from his new life, then we have been sent from the Father also.
If everyone
is indeed made in the image of God and priceless in God’s eyes, than everyone
can join “Jesus’ team”. Everyone who
has been baptized and believes in Christ in fact has joined “Jesus’
team”, and we have been “sent from the Father” – sent to be players, not spectators. That is perhaps
the biggest change in the church in the last forty years or so: the rediscovery
that every baptized member is called to ministry, not just people who
are ordained. And most ministry –
living out the commandments to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls
and our neighbors as ourselves – does not take place in this building, special
and important as it is. Most ministry
takes place everywhere else, sometimes in official church activities ranging
from serving in the Soup Kitchen, the Men’s Shelter, St. Barnabas Assistance
ministries, St. Vincent de Paul Society, on a mission team in El Salvador or in
Kenya, for example, or more often in individual ministries as personal
ambassadors for Christ in our families, extended families, neighborhoods,
workplaces, communities, self-help groups and the whole wide world. Where God’s people need service, caring,
advocates or allies for justice, we are sent from the Father to serve.
All this could
get a little unfocussed or unclear, though, so we as that part of Jesus’ team
which gathers in this church has a purpose statement to help us stay
focussed as a community and as individuals. It is listed on the very top of the service leaflet every week,
and reads, “The purpose of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church is to bring people together in Jesus Christ,
to know him personally, and to strengthen the love of God and man.”
We became so
successful at bringing people together in Jesus Christ that we had to double
the size of our building less than two years ago to fit those who wanted to
come to worship, and those who wanted programs for Christian education, nurture
and training to enable us to know Christ personally at deeper levels and to
strengthen our love for God and people in ways that bring out the best in
ourselves for service.
The building is
just a start: it is not an end in itself, it is what you might call a launching pad for ministry. A launch pad is very important: it’s tough
to send rockets up without it, and building the best launching pad you can
contributes a lot to a space program.
But the reason NASA builds launch pads is not just to have them, but to
use them to be able to explore space.
The reason people build churches is to use them to enable people to draw
closer to God and to each other, to be lifted up, inspired and healed in
worship, to grow in understanding and commitment to serve the world in Christ’s
name and so bring out the best in themselves.
One such
ministry is participating personally in “bringing people together in Jesus
Christ” by inviting someone to join you for a church activity or a church
service. Notice I said “activity”
first: you might find it easier to invite someone to an activity. You might be having a conversation with a
friend, relative, neighbor or co-worker about the state of the world – which
can often inspire discouragement among the most determined optimists!
However, you
might find it possible to say, “Yes, there’s a lot of difficult stuff going on,
but it is possible to do something about something.” And then you could mention that your church
is sponsoring a trip by two parishioners to Kenya to train medical personnel to
help people starting recovering from addictions. If the other person shows some interest, invite them to the
African dinner and program on the trip we’re having this coming Saturday.
Or, if
they have an illness or difficult situation they or a family member are facing,
you could ask, “Would you like my church’s Prayer Chain to pray for you?” and
if the answer is “yes”, pass it on to me or Barbara Sanfilippo.
Or, you
could mention that our church is getting ready for its annual push for Mother’s
Day gifts for women and children in the Shelter for Battered Women. Is that something they’d like to be a part
of? Men and women alike need to be part
of responding to this problem.
Or, if
you’re talking to a woman who sounds like she could use some serenity in her
life, invite her to next Saturday’s Women’s Retreat. It’s free and wonderful.
Or, if
you’re talking to a teenager (or someone who has teenage kids), invite them to
Youth Sunday, May 16, to hear and see our awesome teens.
And yes, you can
ask people, “By the way, do you have a
local church you attend and are happy with?” If they do, that’s terrific!
Encourage them in their commitment and ask about their church. If they don’t, invite them to come here. The worst they could say is “No, thanks” or
“Not now.” At best, it might be the
beginning of something special in their lives.
For the #1 Goal, the Vestry has set for 2004
for the parish (as listed in the insert to the service leaflet) is “transforming lives through our faith
and action.” Many people are
spiritually hungry and are also hungry for a caring community of people who,
like them, are far from perfect but know who is perfect and therefore
follow him as Savior and Lord.
Some of them are waiting for an invitation.
We potentially
transform lives in many other ways, including those outreach projects I’ve
already mentioned, plus through educational and spiritual programs for people
from toddlers to seniors. And some
people may find it an uplifting, even transforming experience to be a part of a
community of faith of extraordinary diversity – ideological diversity as well
as diversities of ethnicity, national origin, economics, and age.
So sometimes
there’s a connection between that goal and Goal
#2, “Incorporating more people
into the St. Barnabas Community of faith, while preserving our sense of ‘family’.” And if you still can’t imagine inviting
someone to a church activity or service, simply be friendly to the people you
do encounter at church activities and services who you don’t yet know. We’re pretty good at this but we could always get better, and
friendliness always amazes those people whose previous experiences of church
have been of coldness or cliquishness.
Living the Easter Life and sharing it
is how we can be disciples here and now.
We go, empowered by Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel: “Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church