Sunday Sermon: More by Its Proclamation than Its Programs
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Text: Luke 12:8-9
Series: “The Church Your New Pastor Deserves”
I think it was back in high school that I was introduced to the award-winning novel by Ralph Ellison titled The Invisible Man. You may have been assigned that book as well as you were coming along. The plot, of course, revolves around a young African American man who goes about his life without anyone’s acknowledgement so that his existence as a minority in a majority-ruled world is insignificant and irrelevant, so much so that to him, it seems as if he is “invisible.” Hence the title, The Invisible Man.
When I was first introduced to the book, I found it hard to relate to. After all, as a white male from a privileged family in my small town, visibility wasn’t a concern for me. Truth be told, I probably craved a bit more invisibility. But now that I’m a pastor of a church in a season of life where the larger society doesn’t respect institutions in general and the church in particular, at least not like they once did, I see Ellison’s point more clearly. It’s no fun to find yourself in a place where no one seems to pay attention to you anymore. I’m not talking about finding yourself in a place where people disagree with you. At least then they would be paying attention. I’m talking about finding yourself in a place where others don’t even value your existence so that for all intents and purposes to them you are invisible.
It seems to me that the primary challenge every church must face in the coming days is the challenge of regaining its visibility – not so much the church regaining a position of prominence in larger society. I don’t know if such a thing exists anymore, and I don’t know if it was ever something the church should have ever sought to begin with. I’m referring more to the church’s ability to regain a hearing in the cultural conversations that are taking place so that our message – the message of the good news of Jesus Christ – might turn hearts away from the narratives of despair that are keeping so many from the abundance that God in Christ wants everyone to know.
This concern also seemed to have weighed heavily on Jesus’ heart as speaks to his disciples, preparing them for God’s future in general and God’s Final Judgment in particular.
One thing to note about the Gospels, they are not merely biographies of Jesus, like biographies we might read of other famous individuals. Certainly, they contain important facts about Jesus’ life: where he was born, how he lived his life, the manner in which he died, and in Jesus’ case, the way God brought him back to life. But more than offering us historical details of Jesus’ life, the Gospels are first and foremost sermons, intended to instruct the church on how to carry on the ministry of Jesus in our world today. That’s why when we read the Gospels in that light we see more clearly how as the church we might find our voice in a season when only bad news has the floor and be seen once again as a community of faith that exists not just for itself but for the betterment of all humankind.
In this section of Luke’s Gospel, or better I should say Luke’s sermon, Jesus is teaching his disciples as a large crowd gathers around to listen in. It’s the perfect setting for what Jesus has for his disciples to hear, given how they are surrounded by people who are desperate for a message that will lead them to life.
“I tell you,” Jesus says to them. “Whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” Without question, Jesus was concerned that in due time his visibility would be in question, as this crowd, many of whom would hail him on Palm Sunday as the coming Messiah, would turn against him by that next Friday and press Pilate, the Roman governor, to crucify him. And how would his disciples handle that turn of events? Their willingness to proclaim Jesus would be the deciding factor.
From its very inception the church has always been a community of proclamation. No one got that better than Luke, who in his first volume, the Gospel of Luke, has disciples going out post-Easter to announce the Gospel message – the women at the tomb, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the disciples in the upper room – “it is true! Jesus is not invisible! We have seen the Lord.” And in his second volume, the book of Acts, Luke tells of the Risen Jesus’ instructions to those first believers that as they receive the Holy Spirit’s power, they are to go forth as his witnesses, “to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world.”
Such is still Jesus’ command to the church – to acknowledge him before others, to make his Risen Presence known to this world, to stand with him and for him in a day when every poll that is taken on every matter has more and more people opting for “undecided” than anything else. In such a day, can you publicly acknowledge Jesus so that in the day of Judgment Jesus will also acknowledge you?
The temptation so many churches face is to substitute programs for proclamation. Part of that impulse stems from their concern that they not come off as intrusive or overbearing, like that person you don’t want to be like who always has to weigh in on every conversation, whether their opinion is wanted or not. And so, because these churches know they must find ways to connect with the larger culture, they decide to offer programs that they hope will meet desired needs in the community.
I have nothing against programs per se. Programs are important. Activities are essential. Ministries do matter. But even then, those programs must serve the church’s mission of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and representing that community of faith’s commitment to elevating Jesus. Otherwise, they amount to nothing more than entertainment or baby-sitting or life-improvement skills – things you could just as easily get at the YMCA or civic club of your choice. What makes the church necessary is our readiness to point people to Jesus, which if done respectfully and humbly and graciously will always command a hearing, not because of who we are, but rather because of who Jesus is.
So, let this church continue to be defined, even as we always have, more by what we say than what we offer. Let us recognize that the times have changed and whereas we once were able to rely on our strategic location and exemplary ministries to attract people, we now must become more missional, as we go out into this community to speak Jesus’ joy into the despair and disillusionment that abound. We must name Jesus in our everyday conversations. We must live in such a way that our deeds give credibility to our witness. We must exude our Easter hope that because we serve a Risen Lord in every circumstance and situation, by siding with him a new world is always possible.
Only then will Mountain Brook Baptist Church see people checking out what’s going on in our most strategic location and finding fulfillment through their participation in our exemplary activities. More importantly, only then will we in the midst of all life’s uncertainties know the blessed assurance that faith in Jesus provides and the perfect peace of knowing how in the Day of Judgment, because we have acknowledged him, Jesus in turn will acknowledge us. On that Day we will be visible and we will be validated and, praise God, we will be victorious.