24th Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 28, Year C
November 14, 2004
Canterbury Northwestern
You know you’re at the end of a good book when you realize that you’re almost out of pages and think, “I don’t want this to end.” You start slowing down as you read to savor every word, taking in every detail of the story. The good book has a setting that is described in vivid detail and the characters have become your friends. You feel like you’ve actually been living in the story.
Well, friends, we are reaching many endings here. Next week, we will read the end of Luke’s account of Jesus’ life. We’ve walked for weeks – months – with Jesus. In these last 24 weeks of the season of Pentecost we’ve witnessed His miracles, we’ve shared in his ministry. We’ve been encouraged and challenged by His example.
Let’s look at the Liturgical Calendar that you all have… We recognize Advent as the beginning of the church year. So, this calendar shows us coming to the end of the year, but then we also see that it’s a giant circle, and while one year “ends”, it never really ends…
As we slide toward the end of the Church Year, the conclusion of Gospel according to Luke, and the finals of the fall term, we are challenged once again by Jesus’ words. This is not an uplifting Gospel. This is not a warm-fuzzy, feel-good message from Jesus (though, honestly, there are so few when one reads the Gospels carefully – many of the messages call us to live faithfully). This one has a particularly scary message and makes us uncomfortable. “Nation will rise against nation…earthquakes…persecution.” It says that followers of Jesus will live in the midst of persecution. If you continue reading Luke’s account, you get to the Acts of the Apostles and can read about the many issues that disciples had in those first years after Jesus died. Jesus tries to warn them here – they will meet some unhappy people and will be faced with public challenge, arrest, and death. All very unpleasant stories and perhaps something that you’d rather I gloss over or neglect to mention. (Heather, where’s the nice Jesus that brings a happy message?)
But for this very reason, I bring you this Gospel. Jesus’ message here is not “happy”. It was not a happy message that Jesus took to the disciples and is not any more heartwarming for those who hear it now. However, it is not without hope, either. This is a message of perseverance, of faith, of love for humanity. We are called to live the life of a Christian, following in Christ’s footsteps. We are called into unpleasant circumstances. While our situations today look different than the people that first heard this message, some are surprisingly familiar. Wars, famines, natural disasters…we see those now. And while we are not arrested for being Christian in the US, we face people who speak badly of us, harass us, and try to silence us with rhetoric or intimidation.
And while I’ve painted a rather gloomy picture so far, here is the good news. If we continue to read through this passage, we see that we will have an “opportunity”. Though something unpleasant takes place, like a confrontation by an atheist, a person questioning faith in God, or someone who disagrees with the Episcopal Church, we have the “opportunity to testify.” However, this may be almost as scary. Some of you may feel that dying sounds easier than giving your testimony of your faith in Jesus Christ, especially in front of a large group of people. There are plenty of people that cringe at the word “evangelism”. However, this is the very charge that Jesus gives us today in this Gospel. Our persecutions – our challenges by the secular world – is our test today. Will you proclaim Jesus’ name?
Stick with me a bit more – don’t get scared by the “e” word. We have plenty of examples of evangelism that we find off-putting, distressing, or outright repugnant (picture people on the street corners in Chicago waving Bibles, screaming at passers-by or televangelists who ask for money). However, there are other ways of sharing God’s love with the world (imagine talking with people who honestly want to know about your faith and why you go to church, or giving food to a hungry person that you meet, or taking a walk along Lake Michigan with a friend and reflecting on God’s creation). And the best part is – whatever our situation – God will give us the words to speak or empower our actions. The Holy Spirit will be present when we are called to show Christ’s love for the world. How you do this depends on your gifts and talents. Some people can shout from the rooftops and collect people that will listen. Most other people talk to one person or a small group and testify to one’s convictions. Some of you will simply be present with people and let God’s energy and love flow through you to another. You will be a comforting presence in the time of turmoil.
One of the ways to talk about God’s love is to tell a story. Tell about your experience of God’s love. Write beautiful settings and describe interesting characters and draw people into your story. As listeners get drawn into the story of God, they will want to start at the beginning and read Genesis and the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. At the same time, they will be writing their own parts of the story as well.
The stories that we tell, the testimony that we proclaim in words and actions, all become part of the Christian story. We find that while we come to the end of Luke’s story of Jesus’ life, we continue to write the Christian story. As we invite others into our story, the characters become more diverse, the pages filling with people growing and developing as children of God. The more we tell our story and feel the conviction of the love the God, the more we will be surrounded by people eager to hear our words and be part of our stories.
We find that we live out the Liturgical Calendar – writing a continuation of story as we read over the events that have occurred before. Our piece of the story is added to part of a larger story that goes in a continuous cycle. This gives us assurance that even in those times of tough experiences or uncomfortable situations, Jesus is with us and continues to empower us to proclaim the Good News.
Posted by Heather Voss at November 14, 2004 05:30 PM