Readings
for Proper 10A:
Isaiah 55:1-5; 10-13; Psalm 65; Romans 8:9-17; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
July 10, 2005
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
I love this image of the extremely generous sower. With complete abandonment the sower grabs handfuls of seed and throws them EVERYWHERE. Spilling on the path for all who pass by to notice—even though birds swoop down and steal them. Seeds tossed hither and yon, onto rocky ground, where some manage to grow quickly, yet get scorched and die. Into thorns, where they choke before they have a change to grow. Finally, some seeds actually find their way into fertile soil, take root, and grow abundantly. What a generous sower, who gives good seed so freely.
Who is this sower? I ask you, as I begin a discussion on a theology of Church.
When you and I use the term “church” we tend to think “buildings, Sunday morning worship, prayers, Sunday school, preachers in the pulpit--and maybe priests and lay persons offering pastoral care to those in need.” When Jesus told the parable of the sower, he identified himself as the sower. He had a message to proclaim, which was rejected by synagogues and temples. He had no thought of gathering people in buildings for rote prayers and worship. Jesus proclaimed a message of repentance and faith, of love and hope, to bring us into close relationship with God and each other. By God’s grace, he shared that message freely, to all he encountered, without judgment of whether it would or would not “take root” in their hearts.
When Matthew’s gospel recorded this parable, it was for a community
of the faithful gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord. It
was also
with a sense of urgency to encourage disciples to share the good news with
others, to make more disciples. Those who heard the word of the kingdom gathered
to support one another in spreading this good news, telling their stories
of repentance and faith, of healing and new life. Matthew knew Jesus had
been
rejected by Israel. The sower had generously spread his word, it had taken
hold with a few, and now the few had to take on the role of sower. They had
to take this word of the kingdom of heaven beyond Israel; they had to take
this word to all nations.
Matthew’s “theology of Church” was a Christ-centered community
of disciples called to respond to what we call The Great Commission, found
in the final chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you.” (Mt. 28:19:20)
Recently, I was speaking with an Episcopal friend of mine about my theology of church. She told me about a sermon her rector* preached on 3 basic kinds of churches: (*Kevin Phillips)
Great Commission churches are like Matthew’s community—called to witness the gospel to others, to “evangelize”, telling all persons about this good news so that they may choose to become a disciple of Christ also. These churches not only baptize, but teach Christ’s word.
Great Commandment churches are those that follow Jesus’ commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) These churches emphasize the importance of reaching out to the poor, serving the hungry, doing social justice and outreach without regard to creating disciples, without witnessing one’s own faith, without teaching Christ’s word.
Great Foundational Churches are those churches that intentionally create opportunities for the work of The Great Commission and The Great Commandment. Foundational Churches seek a balance of both. Jesus called his disciples into unity. The theology of Foundational Churches is to develop a faithful community of believers who can remain in balance by offering ministries of both The Great Commission and The Great Commandment.
What is St. Jude’s “theology of Church?” Where do we line up in these 3 types of churches? I would say it is the tradition of St. Jude’s to be a “Great Commandment” Church, as are most mainline Christian churches. We have a tremendous love for reaching out to those in need, the marginalized, the poor, the hungry, the outcast. We spend money, time and talent caring for neighbors in need, but very few of us are comfortable witnessing the gospel to others or inviting others to consider becoming a disciple of Christ.
A Great Commandment Church needs to seek ways to do more “Great Commissioning” work if it is to be a balanced church (and vice-versa). The unification of these two modes allows a deeper spiritual unity of the whole body. Becoming a Foundational Church--a Christian group of people who seek to share the gospel with all through “commissioning” as well as “loving service”--will allow more of the kingdom of heaven to be realized right here, right now—for the salvation of you, me—all of us, and for the world around us.
The major reason Episcopalians do not intentionally seek to “share the gospel through witnessing and teaching the faith”, is because WE ARE AFRAID. The question for us becomes this: are we willing to get over our fear of spreading the seeds of God’s truth? Are we willing to be the generous sower? Are we willing to generously toss God’s word hither and yon to anyone and everyone, as Jesus did for us? Are we willing to share our faith—the ways God’s love and grace have carried us through life--honestly and freely to our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, our family, the grocery store clerk—whoever, without judging the condition of their “soil receptivity”? And if we manage a 25% success rate, if we yield abundant fruit for our labors, are we willing to incorporate a hundredfold, sixty fold, or even thirty fold new “hearers of the word” who will come sit here in these pews next to us?
The Rev. James Nutter, Rector of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church in Houston Texas, says he has encountered 4 major “fear factors” that keep us from sharing our faith:
We must face our fear if we are disciples of Jesus Christ, and encourage one another in giving up what we want and do what Jesus asked us to do—“make disciples of all nations.” If we are to be the Church, it is not a matter of IF we will “spread the seeds” of sharing our faith journey, but HOW we will do it. It is not OUR Church, it is Christ’s church, and this is what he commanded us to do. We do it in obedience to Christ, the one who offered us eternal grace not because we deserved it, but because he loved us. And we don’t tell our story because we are perfect, we tell our story because our lives have been transformed by the truth of the good news. It is these truths implanted in our hearts that have transformed our lives and equipped us to face trials and tribulations with spiritual strength—we would be selfish to keep these truths hidden. So we tell our stories to allow our own faith to grow, we cannot hoard it or it begins to wither. We also tell our stories to encourage others to worship, that they might participate with us here, and enhance the health of the church—otherwise it may become a “club”, myopic, ingrown and narcissistic. And, finally, we tell our faith story for the sake of society, for as more people hear the good news of Jesus Christ, the saving grace of his love, the more enlightened our world will become.
Later this summer our Adult Education program will invite you to a “Fireside Room” discussion using the teaching of James Nutter and the Trinity Wall Street program, A Spiritual Journey. I hope you will prayerfully consider attending, to see how you can share your faith journey, to learn how you, too, can be a generous sower.
AMEN
| Updated 7/10/05 |
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