ReDo: Running form Renewal

Last week we began a sermon series on spiritual renewal. I said that spiritual renewal is not simply continuing something, like when I renew my Entertainment Weekly subscription. We looked at several verses of scripture that talk about renewal. Those scriptures tell us that renewal is a transformation, it is a change in our thoughts and attitudes. It is also a rebirth, a re-creation. Spiritual renewal means something new. We talked about spiritual renewal as a renovation. When you renovate a house you go in and tear out the old to replace it with the new.

We looked at the story of the disciples just before and following Jesus’ ascension to heaven. From that scripture, along with the story of Pentecost, we established two precursors for spiritual renewal.

Before he ascended, Jesus gave the disciples a mission. Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach them everything I taught you. And then he told them to wait. To wait for the Holy Spirit. So the disciples went to Jerusalem and waited by devoting themselves to prayer. Then they experienced the renewing power of the Holy Spirit.

First, the disciples prayed. And if we expect spiritual renewal, we need to do the same. The second thing necessary for spiritual renewal is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the continuing, continuous presence of Christ on earth. It is only through the Holy Spirit that the disciples could find success in their mission. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we are empowered to continue that mission. The Apostles experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and allowed the Spirit to renew them and then to work through them as they preached to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

The story of Pentecost shows us that there is a progression to spiritual renewal. It begins with individuals. The disciples experienced the renewal of the Holy Spirit and were empowered to fulfill their mission of making disciples. That renewal spread to the church. These earliest believers, on that day, became the church and they committed themselves to worshipping and praying together. Then from the church the renewal and revival spread to the community. Acts tells us that the church grew daily following Pentecost. “The Lord added to their numbers day-by-day.”

Today we’re going to talk about that first stage. Personal renewal. The Holy Spirit first worked in the Apostles, empowering them to preach the good news. The disciples experienced personal renewal in a very obvious, visual way. The Holy Spirit rested on each of them like a tongue of fire and they were filled with the Spirit. The Spirit transformed these confused, dormant people into focused and effective preachers of the Gospel. They underwent a spiritual renewal that empowered them to fulfill God’s call for their lives.

A few weeks ago, I asked the question on Facebook, “What does spiritual renewal’ mean?” I got a few responses, but I wanted to share one with you. “Spiritual renewal is being refilled with the Holy Spirit for a new or renewed fruitful work.” God calls each one of us to minister to the world – to share the good news of Jesus Christ and the redemptive love of God. Spiritual renewal is the Holy Spirit filling us, preparing us, and empowering us to fulfill that call.

This morning we’re going to look at a familiar story and what it tells us about spiritual renewal. Most of you are probably familiar with the story of Jonah – at least the “belly of a whale” part of the story.

Jonah is a prophet of God. God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach to the Ninevites. God tells him, “Go there and tell them they’re wicked and they’d better repent!” But Jonah, for whatever reason, doesn’t want to go to Nineveh. We learn later that he didn’t want Nineveh to be spared. So Jonah gets on a boat headed for Tarshish (the opposite direction). God calls Jonah and he runs away. By the way, this story hits a little close to home for me. But that’s another sermon.

As Jonah is in the boat on the run, a great storm comes up and tosses the boat. The entire crew is fearing for their life. They begin throwing things overboard to lighten the boat and prevent it from sinking. Finally Jonah tells them it’s his fault. The storm is there to prevent him from running away from what God called him to do. He asks the crew to throw him overboard, and they do. Jonah is swallowed by a huge fish. He spends 3 days and 3 nights in the fish until finally he prays. He prays a prayer of Thanksgiving.

Jonah 2

New Living Translation (NLT)

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. ² He said,

“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble,
    and he answered me.
I called to you from the land of the dead,
    and Lord, you heard me!
³ You threw me into the ocean depths,
    and I sank down to the heart of the sea.
The mighty waters engulfed me;
    I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.
⁴ Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence.
    Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

⁵ “I sank beneath the waves,
    and the waters closed over me.
    Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
⁶ I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
    I was imprisoned in the earth,
    whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God,
    snatched me from the jaws of death!
⁷ As my life was slipping away,
    I remembered the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you
    in your holy Temple.
⁸ Those who worship false gods
    turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
⁹ But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,
    and I will fulfill all my vows.
    For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

¹⁰ Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

When Jonah asked the crew of the boat to throw him overboard, he expected to die. He ran from God and expected to lose his life because of his disobedience. God, though, provided the gift of a fish to save him. I’m not sure that’s such a great gift, but in this case I guess it is. Talk about a salvation story!

Jonah knows from whom his salvation comes.  Look how he ends his prayer: “Salvation comes from the Lord!” Jonah realizes he has disobeyed God. Here we get to witness Jonah’s personal revival. He realizes that he has let his own fears and prejudices turn him away from God’s call. Now, he cries out in faith. He is ready to accept the call. Ready to obey God.

Jonah tries to run, but God pursues him. Finally Jonah realizes he has turned from God’s will and he repents. And in doing so he experiences a spiritual renewal. A personal revival. But don’t think that Jonah renewed his own spirit. He agreed to let God work in his life. He agreed to answer God’s call. God took care of the spiritual renewal.

Just like we talked about last week with Jesus’ first followers at Pentecost, spiritual renewal, or revival, is not something that can be manufactured or manipulated into being. It can only come from God and often it comes when we least expect it.

John Wesley, many of you know, was the founder of the Methodist movement, or the Methodist Revival as some called it. That movement eventually became the Methodist church. We look back at Wesley today as this great pillar of faith, a theological dynamo.

But that wasn’t always the case in his life. Just to give you a little background, Wesley was born in 1703 in Epworth, England. In 1725 he was ordained as a Deacon in the Anglican Church, and then in 1728 Wesley was ordained as an Anglican priest.  But over the next 10 years or so, Wesley life was a spiritual roller coaster. It was filled with ups and downs, highs and lows. At times he was unsure of his own salvation. In 1736, he was sent to the Georgia colony as a missionary. He had high hopes for the trip. High hopes of converting Native Americans. He returned to England 2 years later discouraged and depressed. A couple of months after his return to England Wesley attended a prayer meeting at Aldersgate Street. There he had a transformative experience.

I’ll let John Wesley tell it in his own words. This is from Wesley’s journals: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

From that experience, John and his brother Charles, began a movement of renewal in the Church of England. I’d call it, as many do, a revival. John Wesley, like Jonah, felt far from God. Maybe it wasn’t of his own choosing as it was with Jonah, but it seems the feelings were similar. And in the case of John Wesley, just as in Jonah’s story, God pursues him. And God works with transformative power in his life to revive his faith and bring a spiritual renewal that spread through the Church of England and eventually into the Americas. But that’s next week’s subject matter.

Today we focus on revival within our own hearts. Each of us stands in need of revival. Each of us has a faith that needs to be renewed. Each of us is called just as Jonah was; just as John Wesley. We are all called to be ministers of the Gospel. We need to experience this same sort of spiritual renewal as we answer God’s call to fruitful works.

This is an interesting time of year to talk about spiritual renewal. Lent begins this week. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Lent consists of the 40 days leading up to Easter. All throughout Lent, we look forward to Easter and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. We cannot, however, get to the resurrection without the crucifixion. So we look to the cross. In the cross, we see our brokenness. We see our sinfulness. We also see redemption. We see salvation displayed in Christ crucified. But only because we view the cross in the context of the resurrection.

Lent is a season of reflection and repentance. It is a time when we examine the cross and the cross examines us. A time to reflect on our own sinfulness. A time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus. A time to repent and prepare to celebrate resurrection and the victory over sin and death that Jesus’ resurrection won for all of us.

So Lent is a time of spiritual renewal. Traditionally people give things up for Lent. The idea is that you give something up and the absence of that thing is almost an act of penitence. It is as if we are removing something from the space between us and God in order to make that space smaller.

Well, that’s essentially what spiritual renewal is. Growing closer to God.

Unfortunately Lent has become a sort of 2^nd New Year’s resolution. People like to give up things that are bad for them and hope the behavior sticks.

I want to encourage you to look at Lent as a time for spiritual renewal. A time for rebirth, for transformation. A time to grow closer to God and in doing so, to truly live by the Spirit.

I think the prayer that Pride read this morning gives us an excellent blueprint for seeking spiritual renewal. It gives us a map for replacing the worldly things in our lives with things of the Spirit. Love instead of hate. Pardon instead of injury. Hope for despair. Light for darkness. And puts into perspective where our efforts should be spent. Help me to seek to love others instead of seeking love.

To achieve the things St. Francis prayed, that’s what spiritual renewal looks like.

As we move toward Lent this week, what can you do to experience spiritual renewal? I want to give you a few steps.

1)    Realize the need for renewal. God calls each of us. Sometimes we run, like Jonah – sometimes we just feel like we’ve drifted away, like John Wesley. But we all stand in need of renewal.

2)    Offer yourself to God. God has a call for each and every one of us. No one is too old or too young for God to use. God is calling you. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you to help as you discern what you are called to do.

3)    Get closer to God. Let Lent be a time where instead of giving something up, you take something on. Spend time in prayer every day. Pray the Prayer of St. Francis. Read the scriptures. Put together a study group. Believe it or not, listening to others’ stories and experiences with God is a great way to know God better. We can prepare our lives for renewal by praying and reading scriptures and more importantly by spending time with other Christians in worship and study and prayer.

4)    Be ready! If you offer yourself to God ready to be renewed, ready to accept God’s call for your life, expect God to work and be ready. Allow the Spirit to guide you. Listen for the God’s call, hear God’s call, and answer God’s call.

I want to close with an altered version of the prayer of St. Francis that Pride prayed earlier. This version was prayed by Mother Teresa at the UN in 1985.

Make us worthy Lord to serve our fellow men throughout the world,

who live and die in poverty and hunger.

Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread

and by our understanding love give peace and joy.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.

That where there is hatred I may bring love,

That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,

That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,

That where there is error I may bring truth,

That where there is doubt I may bring faith,

That where there is despair I may bring hope,

That where there are shadows I may bring light,

That where there is sadness I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,

To understand than to be understood,

To love than to be loved.

For it is by forgetting self that one finds.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,

it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.

ReDo: Spiritual Renovation

I’m going to do things a little differently today. Usually I give some sort of story or explanation before I read the scripture, but today, I’m just going to jump right in.

Acts 1:3-14

New Living Translation (NLT)

³ During the forty days after his crucifixion, Jesus appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

⁴ Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. ⁵ John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷ He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. ¹⁰ As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.¹³ When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James).¹⁴ They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

Today we are starting a sermon series on spiritual renewal. We’re going to spend the next few weeks examining this concept of spiritual renewal. What does it mean? How do we do it?

Today we’re going to examine that first question. What is spiritual renewal? That will lead us into the second question. How do we achieve spiritual renewal?

Spiritual renewal is a theme throughout the scriptures. In Romans Paul writes about being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Ephesians says we should let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. 2 Corinthians says, “we are being renewed day by day.”

I have to point out the renewal these verses talk about is not renewal like renewing a magazine subscription or your insurance. That sort of renewal is continuing something. This is a different sort of renewal.

The writer of Psalm 51 asks God to “Create in me a clean heart.  Put a new and right spirit within me.” It’s not simply re-committing to the same thing. It’s something new. In Colossians, Paul says we are given a new nature and that new self is renewed in knowledge to conform us to the image of Christ. Jesus in talking with the Pharisee Nicodemus talked about rebirth. Being born anew.  Titus 3:5 says we are saved by this new birth and by the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

So spiritual renewal is a rebirth. It’s a recreation. It’s a cleansing, a reconditioning. Refreshing. Maybe a renovation. We can also talk about spiritual renewal by using an old, and to some people, troubling term. Revival. Revival is one of those words that has bad connotations for some people. Honestly, I’m one of them.

The church where I grew didn’t have revivals, at least not that I remember. The only experience I had with revival came from movies and TV. And most of those experiences were little more than someone screaming about Jesus and the devil and trying to literally scare the Hell out of their audience.

Honestly, what came to mind was this guy. Are any of you familiar with the movie Leap of Faith?

In that movie, Steve Martin plays a con-man. He is a con-man posing as an evangelist, Jonas Nightingale. He travels from town to town performing an old fashioned tent revival. He comes out with really flashy clothes, and fireworks going off, and a huge choir singing behind him. Then he whips the crowd into a frenzy by screaming about Jesus (using way too many syllables). The service climaxes with a series of faith healings which is quickly followed by the offering buckets. The crowd eats it up and fill the buckets, but we get to see the behind the scenes stuff in the movie. We see that off stage, Steve Martin’s preacher character is a foul-mouthed jerk. We see his employees talking to the crowd as they file into the seats and then passing information to his assistant in a control booth. She then gives him the information through a hidden ear-piece to convince the crowd that God is talking to him and telling him who needs to be healed.

There’s more to the story than that, but you’ll have to see movie yourself to find out what happens. I will say this, God has a history of working through scoundrels.

A few years ago, the church I served as pastor held a revival. It was customary for their new pastor to preach the first revival. So I was called on to preach, so I had to work through my preconceptions about revivals.

Some of you may have noticed I’m full of questions. When I learn about something, I usually end up with more questions than answers. When I attempt something I approach it with questions. I guess I’m the analytical type. I want to know exactly what I’m doing and where I’m going before I get started. So I needed to figure out what a revival was to get past the image of Steve Martin in a mirrored jacket.

So I began to research, and I went to most reliable source I know. Wikipedia. Are you familiar with Wikipedia? My favorite description of Wikipedia comes from Michael Scott on The Office, “Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information.” That was, of course a sarcastic description. But, Wikipedia has this to say about revival – “Christian revival is a term that generally refers to a specific period of increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or many churches.”

That sounds like a goal. Increased spiritual interest and a time of spiritual renewal. It also sounds like something that cannot be manufactured. Spiritual renewal doesn’t happen simply because I planned a sermon series. Increased spiritual interest and spiritual renewal are not necessarily things that happen on a schedule.

Which brings me back to our scripture for this morning. As Jesus leaves the Disciples to continue his work, he tells them to wait. Just after the scripture I read, we read about the story of Pentecost. The birth of the church. The Holy Spirit comes to the disciples with a sound like a rushing wind and rests on each of them with what Acts describes as tongues of fire. Empowered by the Spirit, those first believers go out and preach to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem. And by the end of that day, the number of believers grew from 120 to over 3000. There are some important ideas here about spiritual renewal – about revival.

First, Spiritual renewal can only happen through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit; which is demonstrated in our scripture. The Disciples see and talk to the resurrected Jesus who tells them to wait. Wait for the Holy Spirit. So they go to Jerusalem and they prepare themselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is only when the Holy Spirit comes to them that they are ready. They are renewed through the Spirit’s presence and by the Spirit’s work in and through them. Then they are prepared to, as Jesus told them, “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to all the ends of the earth.”

Second, is the importance of prayer. After Jesus ascends to heaven, the Disciples go and prepare themselves for the coming Spirit. According to our scripture they do this by “constantly devoting themselves to prayer.” By devoting themselves to prayer, they prepared for the coming Holy Spirit

There’s something else we learn from the story of Pentecost. And it’s going to be our focus for the next 3 Sundays. There are really three separate renewals going on in this story. Spiritual renewal, true renewal, does not stop with us. The Holy Spirit brought a change in the Disciples. The Holy Spirit revived and renewed their lives and their desire to serve Jesus! Through that renewal of the disciples, the church underwent a renewal as well. After the coming of the Spirit, the church began to fulfill its mission. Jesus gave the disciples a mission. Go make disciples, baptize them, and teach them. Now, empowered by the spirit they are prepared to do just that. This time of spiritual renewal caused revival in their community and “day by day the Lord added to their numbers.” People around them were so moved by what they saw that they knew they wanted to be a part of that group.

To me, this is what revival looks like. This is how renewal progresses. It begins with the individual, spreads to the church, and then spreads throughout the community.

Over the next 3 weeks we’re going to look more specifically at each of these steps. What does it mean to have a personal revival; to experience spiritual renewal? What about the renewal of a congregation? What should a church be & how can we be that church? And finally, how can we let that renewal spread throughout the community?

It begins, though, just as it did on the day of Pentecost, with the Holy Spirit. So, let’s invite the Holy Spirit. Invite the Spirit to begin working in you. Each of us is called by God to something. Each of us is called to minister. To spread the good news of Jesus Christ and the redemptive love of God. Over the next few weeks, I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you as you seek that call.

Stories of Us: The Tell-Tale Talent

Today we’re going to finish up our series looking at a few of Jesus’ parables to see what kind of lessons they hold for us today.

This morning we’re going to look at a story known as the parable of the talents. The translation I’m using this morning doesn’t use the word “talent”, but that is the traditional name for the parable because the traditional translations refer to talents. A talent, by the way is a weight of measure. When used to discuss money, as it is in Jesus’ parable, it referred to a talent, or a specific weight, of silver coins. A talent equals about 56 kilograms. So today, a talent of silver would be worth around $56,000.

The parable of the talents may be familiar to you. Maybe you’ve heard sermons preached on this passage. Actually, I used this passage for the first sermon I ever preached. And I think I’ve preached on it 2 or 3 times since then. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find those sermons, so I had to write a new one.

Let’s look at the scripture:

Matthew 25:14-30

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁴ “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. ¹⁵ He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

¹⁶ “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.¹⁷ The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. ¹⁸ But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. ²⁰ The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

²¹ “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²² “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

²³ “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

²⁴ “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. ²⁵ I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

²⁶ “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, ²⁷ why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁸ “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. ²⁹ To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. ³⁰ Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The problem with Bible passages that are very familiar to us and we’ve heard preached several times is that we tend to think we know the verses and know what they say to us. So we are apt to tune out (after all, I’ve heard this before) but when we do that, we miss things. We assume that we’ve learned what we can from that story, so we just hear the same things we’ve always heard.

I had that problem the first time I preached about this parable. I was taking part in a Lay Speaking class and we had to write and preach a 5 minute sermon based on this scripture. I read it and as I did I read about a man giving money to 3 servants. 2 servants invested it, used it, and it grew. The other buried his, ignored it. I read about 2 servants who used their talents, their gifts, and one who didn’t. Because that’s the way I’d always read that story, or heard it taught and preached. So I sat and tried to figure out some new way to preach about these servants and their talents and the one who wasted his and was punished for it.

Then I decided to read a different interpretation of the passage. I had a copy of The Message, so I read it from that interpretation of the Bible. As I read this familiar story in fresh words, I heard it in a way I’d not heard it before. It took on a new meaning. Let me read the end of the story from The Message.

“The [last] servant… said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’

“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

“‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’

Last week, we looked at the parable of the sower, and I talked about God sowing in the risky places. God scatters the Gospel on all the world. Not just in good soil where it is guaranteed to grow and produce fruit, but even in the rocky places and along the well worn path and among the thorns. God sows in the risky places and calls us to do the same. To step out in faith and risk failure in order to reach a lost and hurting world.

Thinking in terms of taking risks in faith makes me think of another story about Jesus. The disciples are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. They were crossing the sea at night, and they see what they think is a ghost and they start to freak out a little. Then they hear Jesus’ voice. “It’s me, don’t worry.” Peter’s still not sure. He tells Jesus, “If it’s you, call me to you.” And Jesus calls him out of the boat. And Peter steps out onto the water. After a while he began to sink, and because of that this story becomes a story of lack of faith. But Peter doesn’t look like the one lacking faith to me, because where are the other 11 disciples? They never moved. They stayed in the boat. Talk about a lack of faith.

Dr. Ernest Campbell was the pastor of Riverside Church in New York City. He once said, “The reason that we lack faith is that we are not doing anything that requires it.” It didn’t require any faith on the part of the disciples to sit in that boat. It doesn’t require any faith to sit in these chairs, to sing songs, to listen to a sermon. Coming to church on a Sunday morning in Alabama, I don’t think we can call that taking a risk.

So, what does that risk look like?

I don’t know if any of you listen to This American Life. A couple of years ago they told a story of someone sowing in risky places. Twenty years ago, Agnes Wilcox began taking acting troupes and performing Shakespeare for prisoners around St. Louis, MO. Eventually that led to having the prisoners themselves perform the plays. It’s not a ministry, per se, in that it is not affiliated with any religious organization. But it has reaped fruit. The inmates interviewed on This American Life talked about how this program has brought them face to face with their own crimes; it has helped them to realize the pain and suffering they have caused others. The program has helped to rehabilitate hardened criminals. That is some risk: teaching Shakespeare to murderers and rapists. But for 20 years, the Prison Performing Arts program has “help[ed] inmates learn the life skills that prepare them to become productive, creative, and law-abiding citizens.”

So what does that have to do with a parable about a master, his servants, and some money? Let’s think about our parable today, not in terms of money, but in terms of the Gospel. Three disciples are given the Gospel message – stories of Jesus, compassion, the bread of life and the cup of salvation. One tells the stories and soon 5 new disciples are telling stories and making new disciples. A second shows compassion to someone and that person became a disciple and went on to show compassion to others and make more disciples. The third with the bread and the cup took them home, and put them in a cabinet.

So how are we to live while we wait for Jesus’ return? We are not called to bury the gospel, to hide it from the world, but to share it. Or maybe we could use another image. Maybe we can think about the image of the church with closed doors. Because if we keep the gospel in this room or in this building, then we are burying it. We’re hiding it from the world instead of taking it out and sharing it. And if we hide it, we’ll never make new disciples.

Instead, we need to open our doors to the world. But just because we open the doors, doesn’t mean that people are going to come and hear the gospel. After all, there’s no risk in opening the doors and just preaching a little louder. Hoping that people will hear and want to come in.

But if we get out of here and take the stories and the compassion and the bread and the cup to the world, that takes risk. In order to do that and do it well, we have to take risks.

The mission statement of the North Alabama Conference of the UMC is “Every church challenged and equipped to grow more disciples of Jesus Christ by taking risks and changing lives.” And that is our calling. We are called to make more disciples, and the truth is, we’re not going to do that by playing it safe. We’re not going to fulfill that mission by sitting back and wait for people to come to us. We’re not going to make more disciples without trying. Without stepping out of the boat and trusting Jesus.

It comes down to the difference between going to church and being the church. If all we do is come here, sing some songs, listen to the bald guy, and go home feeling better about ourselves. Well, then this isn’t a church. It’s simply a social club with a motivational speaker.

So let’s be the church. Let’s take the gospel out of here and into the world. Let’s take the gift we’ve been given and share it and watch it grow!

Stories of Us: Much Ado About Sowing

3 of 4 in a series of sermons on Jesus' parables.
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Much Ado About Sowing

We are continuing our series on the parables of Jesus. In these parables, Jesus told stories of everyday life in 1^st century Judea, but used them to teach his followers, and, as we saw last week, sometimes his enemies. We are examining some of these stories to see what lessons they hold for us in the 21^st century. Let’s look at this week’s parable.

Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23

New Living Translation (NLT)

13 ³ He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. ⁴ As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.⁸ Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! ⁹ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

¹⁸ “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: ¹⁹ The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. ²⁰ The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.²¹ But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. ²² The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. ²³ The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

How familiar are you with Starbucks? You know the coffee place? I’ll give you some background. Starbucks was founded in 1971 in Seattle, WA. They began with a single store that sold only coffee beans. They opened their first locations outside of Seattle in 1987. In 1994, Starbucks had 300 stores in the US. Today there are over 13,000 locations in the US and more than 20,000 worldwide (in 61 countries). They employ over 149,000 people worldwide. In 2012, their total sales were over $13 billion. They are currently the largest coffeehouse chain in the world.

To say Starbucks is popular would be an understatement. There has been a rumor in Florence for a few years now that Starbucks wants to open a store here. When you talk to certain people about it you can almost see them drool as they ponder the possibility. In many cities, realtors have begun putting ‘close to Starbucks’ in their ads alongside ‘hard-wood floors’ and ‘good schools’. I found one website with 2 ads mentioning proximity to Starbucks. People will actually pay extra for a home within walking distance of a Starbucks store.

There are several factors behind the company’s success. One is the ‘cool’ factor, because everybody knows that Starbucks is the ‘cool’ place to buy coffee. That, of course goes straight to their marketing successes. Another secret to their success is, to put it in real estate terms, ‘Location, location, location.’ Starbucks spends lots of money and lots of resources on picking the best locations for their stores. They do exhaustive research before making a selection.

Arthur Rubenfeld is a former Executive Vice President for Real Estate at Starbucks; he gives several examples of the research they do. They send consultants to stand at a location with a clicker during peak times to count traffic. Oil stains in the parking lot tells him that an area gets lots of traffic. More suits and jackets at a local dry cleaner tells him that it is a higher income area than if there were a majority of shirts. There are other things they look for as well, but all of these things go into picking the best locations, the locations that show the best potential.

They study and research relentlessly to find the best locations, and because of this rigorous process, they choose locations that are much more likely to be successful. They put tons of time and resources into finding good soil.

Contrast that with the sower in today’s scripture. This parable is likely familiar to you. You’ve probably heard it preached before. Maybe you’ve heard it taught, as I have heard and taught that the focus of the parable is on the soils. The four types of soil represent types of people and we, of course, want to be good soil. This story is sometimes called the Parable of the four soils or the Parable of the Miraculous Yield. Jesus, though, calls it ‘The Parable of the Sower’ or ‘The Parable of the Farmer’. That tells us that this parable is first and foremost about the sower. If the sower is the subject, then we need to look at what the story tells us about the sower.

That depends on your interpretation of the parable. Let’s look at it on these terms: The sower is God. The seed is Jesus or the Word made flesh. The different soils are different life conditions.

In that context, there is an important idea I want to examine. God scatters the seed, Jesus, on the world. But this is not a strategic, row-by-row planting. Our scripture says that the farmer “scatters the seed.” It seems almost wasteful. A frugal farmer would want to ensure as successful a planting as possible. A frugal farmer would plant only in good soil. She would do everything possible to make sure the soil was good. (like research extensively). She would go to great lengths to make sure that the seed land in that good soil.

The planting described in the parable is known as broadcasting. You’ve probably seen a broadcaster, especially if you’ve ever spread grass seed. You walk along and turn the crank and seed are cast out in every direction. In 1^st century Judea, they didn’t have broadcasters. Instead, the farmer would walk along and throw handfuls of seed out into his field. Now some of those seed would probably land out of the field; on the path, on rocky soil, among weeds. It would likely be very few seeds, though. In Jesus’ story, it almost seems as if the seed are divided in fourths. As if equal amounts fall on the different soils. But despite the seed falling in areas where it may not thrive, the sower continues to spread the seed. God continues to spread the Word. God continues to sow generously, even in the unpromising places.

Has anyone taken Disciple Bible Study. Each lesson typically asks 3 questions about the scripture readings for that week. “What does this say about God?” “What does it say about us humans?” and “What does this say about the relationship between God and humans?” So, let’s examine this story in terms of those questions.

To make it a little more concrete, let’s look at Jesus’ ministry, specifically his time with the Disciples, as it relates to the parable. This will give us an idea of, not only what the parable says about God, but also what it says about us.

The first seed mentioned falls along the path. Jesus says this represents those who do not understand the Word. That’s the best description of the disciples I’ve heard. Half of our scripture this morning is Jesus explaining this parable to the disciples. They spent much of their time with Jesus asking him to clarify his teachings or just plain misunderstanding him.

The second group of seed falls on rocky ground. The hearer receives it with joy, but it only endures for a while. When persecution and trouble come along, they fall away. Again, it’s a pretty accurate description of the Disciples. Upon Jesus’ arrest, they scattered. They spent the next few days hiding in fear. Some of them went back to their jobs as fishermen.

The third group of seed fell among the weeds. In these people the Word is received, but is choked out by the cares of the world. Maybe we see Judas in this group. Or the whole group of disciples as they argue over who is the greatest. Or James and John when their mom goes to ask Jesus if they can be his right hand men when he comes to power.

You know what? If we are honest, I think we can see each of these soil types or each of these life conditions in our own lives. Probably not all at once, maybe not now, but I know I can identify times in my own life when any one of these was true.

What does this parable say about us? It says we are going to slip. We’re going to misunderstand Jesus. We’re going to find ourselves running from Jesus sometimes. We’re going to let life push us away from Jesus.

What does this parable tell us about God? It tells us that despite all of that, God does not give up on us. Despite the disciples’ failings, Jesus still sent them out to preach the gospel. Despite the bad soil they showed time and again, he saw the potential for good soil – the potential for a miraculous harvest. Despite our failings, God asks the same of us. Go, make disciples, baptize, teach, and remember. God continues, through the Holy Spirit working in our lives and through us, to spread the word on all 4 of these soil types.

This parable tells us that God is not like Starbucks – spending time and resources trying to find the best soil. God simply casts the seed of Jesus on the world. Jesus invested his ministry in the Disciples, which if you didn’t know the end of the story could be a little discouraging. He spent much of his time with sinners and tax-collectors; lepers and other outcasts. But in this parable, Jesus still looks forward to an abundant harvest. And hind-sight being 20/20, I’d say he was right. What started with about 120 followers just after the resurrection has grown to more than 2 billion Christians today. That is a miraculous yield.

There is something else this passage tells us about us. Maybe there’s another way to look at this parable. What if we look at it in terms of our own evangelism? Evangelism comes from the Greek work euaggelion, which means good news. Evangelism is, at its simplest, telling people about Jesus. Whether that is inviting people to church or simply telling people about your church. Telling people who Jesus is to you and what Jesus has done for you. That’s evangelism. Telling the good news.

Most of the time our approach to evangelism looks like Starbucks’ approach to new stores. We want to make sure it will be successful before we start. Sometimes that means we don’t talk about Jesus because of where we are and who we’re with. We, like Starbucks, want to find the good soil and throw seed on it. But that’s not what this parable teaches. This parable doesn’t teach us to be selective with the gospel. Our sower, God, sows the Word on everyone. The 4 types of soil represent all walks of life. God spreads the word to them all. That’s risky. Sowing where you know growth is unlikely is a risk. But we are called to do likewise. We are called to carry the gospel with us where ever we go, even, or maybe especially, in those areas where we think growth is unlikely.

What does the parable say about our relationship with God? Firstly, it tells us that God will pursue us even in the rocky places or among the thorns or along the well-worn path. And second, because of our relationship with God, we are called to take the word to just those places, wherever they may be.

So, what is the “take home” from this parable? We are called to share the gospel just as the farmer scatters seed – extravagantly and indiscriminately, not judging which places and people are worthy of the good news and which are not. In other words, take the gospel with you everywhere you go. In word and in deed, always