At our lectionary group yesterday Dr. J offered his dream sermon for the Matthew text on Friday. "I'd never preach it, but I'd love to." It struck me, so today's reflection is stolen from him.
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The earliest mission of Christianity was simple. Jesus sent his disciples with these instructions, "As you go, proclaim the good news, `The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons" Somewhere between there and here things went wrong. At some point Christianity became the Church. We forgot what the kingdom of heaven was all about. We failed to cure the sick. Except for Peter we couldn't raise the dead. We are scared of lepers. We deny the existence of demons. Somewhere, some time, we got lost. We were lost when I started in the church, and it seems we had been for quite some time. I'm sorry to say that things have gone very wrong, and it seems as though we will never get back to right. Church will always beat down the kingdom of heaven, for it behooves the institution to do so.
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Dr. J then suggested you split the congregation into small groups to create a list of the 5 things they want the Church to do. Then, as preacher, sit down, shut up, and pray.
I understand why he could never do this. I am sad that I probably wouldn't either. I pray that someday I do get the strength to be so bold.
5 comments:
Is it so impossible? I mean, not just as a sermon on the text, and perhaps not as a "Christianity v. the Church" riff -- but as a return to "how do we BE the church?" Break into small groups and have people decide what they'd like to see the Church doing, in response to this commission.
And then ask the killer question: what's preventing us from doing this? And what can change?
We are the church, after all. Maybe we get in our own way, when we try to respond to the call to do God's work.
That's the view from the pew that sometimes gets forgotten: WE are the church -- we've been called here for a reason. This gospel gives it some clues to what that means.
Thanks for a provocative post!
Thanks for your sermon at Father Scott's Celebration. It sounded to me like you figured out how to preach the kind of sermon I'm imagining. What I realized is Paul's basically preaching that sermon in Romans 12. What else can he say to Jesus except, "When I got here, this is what I found and this is what I encouraged them to be in your name." How the folks live it out at St. Peter's, at St. Paul's and First Pres. will be how we answer kathleen's killer question, "what's preventing us from doing this? And what can change?
Thanks Kathy and Jay! I think we are in agreement that the underlying question is "what's preventing us from doing this?"
I mean, it is not like we don't already know what Jesus commanded of us. It is just that over the years people got involved, power became a part of it, and institutions and red tape were created.
As one who lives inside of the red tape, and has taken vows to live into that system, I know that despite what my mouth and heart say, I am one who is in the way; preventing the kingdom of God from breaking in while praying and working desperately for it to happen.
If I heard you correctly Jay, you might actually try this on Sunday. I can't wait to hear how it goes.
I talked to a minister the other day who had his aging congregation cut and paste pics out of magazines to illustrate the creation story. He said they loved it, but I'm still a bit hesitant to try something so bold.
And to tell folks that the church has gone astray and that they need to find a way to "fix it"...wow. But I think, Steve, that our generation is just stubborn enough and just bold enough to be able to take risks like this one day.
Hope things are well over that way!
I believe we can re-create discipleship - leading to apostleship, but I don't believe that zinging them from the pulpit is the way to go...and I certainly don't think that demonizing church will do us any good either - if if that is what it has often become. The people in our pews are here because they are trying to find a better way. From the pulpit we can suggest what it looks like when we are spreading the Kingdom of God. In Christian Ed, small groups, bible study, conversations we can get into the discussion of what it means to BE church - and more specifically - what it means to be this particular church - based on the demographics, and the talents that we have at hand, as well as the needs that are present around us. Most of us cannot solve the big issues, but we can chip away at what God brings to our doors and what we go out and find.
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