Sunday
06/26/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “Go and spread the news of God’s
Kingdom”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
New Testament
Scripture: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 9:51-62
Friends, brothers and sisters, welcome again on this the Sixth
Sunday after Pentecost. Six Sundays after the Holy Spirit moved on and in the
first disciples, and the Christian Church was born. On the day of Pentecost
nearly two-thousand years ago, the disciples and the early church went forth
with Jesus’ commandment of “go and spread the news of God’s kingdom” (Lk.
9:60b, CEB). Go forth and tell all people of God’s great love, of the
redemption of Jesus Christ, and of the power of the Holy Spirit. Go forth and
spread the seeds of faith, and go forth to build the kingdom of God.
This directive from Jesus Christ to “go and spread the news
of God’s kingdom” is why we are here in church this morning (Lk. 9:60b, CEB).
As many of you have heard me say so many times, the mission of the United
Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation
of the world”. This means that we are to “go and spread the news of God’s kingdom”
everywhere (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). Everywhere means Freeville, Cortland, New Jersey, Africa,
Asia, South America, Australia, Europe, North America, the Middle East, and
everywhere else. This worldwide faith we call Christianity, is a mighty family
indeed, but it is also a greatly diverse family. Our mighty Christian family is
made up of people from all different cultural contexts, and of people with different
understandings of life and the world. Yet I would argue that we all need the
grace of God, the love of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We
all have that “God shaped hole” in us, as a contemporary Christian song put it.
When our United Methodist Church gathered recently in May
for our ever four year General Conference, we had people representing the
church from all over the world. These people came from virtually every
continent, and of these people, there were many different languages spoken,
different customs displayed, different forms dress, some different beliefs, and
some different ideas. Yet Jesus’ directive to “go and spread the news of God’s
kingdom,” which began on Pentecost is how we have all gotten to where we are here
today (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). From the day of Pentecost the church grew, and here we
sit nearly two-thousand years later as a result of what God has done, and is
continuing to do in us and through us.
On
the day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter gave the first Christian sermon ever preached
by someone other than Jesus. That day the Book of Acts tells us that first
Christian sermon that was preached by the Apostle Peter resulted in, “that day about three thousand persons were added” to
the Christian faith (Acts 2:41, NRSV). Yet on the day of Pentecost, the first
disciples spoke in various tongues, as there people in Jerusalem from various
countries. There were people in Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire, who
spoke different languages, had different customs, beliefs, and ideas. Yet on
the day of Pentecost an incredibly diverse group of human beings became some of
the earliest converts to the Christian faith.
While I was recently commissioned as a
Provisional Elder in our United Methodist Church Conference, as many of you
know, I was given a list of things to work on and to grow into for my eventual
ordination. One of these things was to have a better sense of our global
church. Now when we look at creedal statements of faith, like the Apostle’s
Creed or the Nicene Creed, the majority of Christian Churches around the world
agree with these statements as the theological truths and bedrock of what
Christians believe theologically. Even though this is true though, the church,
while mostly believing the same theological beliefs, have different customs,
different ideas, and people live in different cultures.
The point I am trying to make with
Jesus’ directive of to “go and spread the news of God’s
kingdom,” is that the majority of Christian agree on a majority of core
beliefs, but the faith will manifest a little differently everywhere (Lk.
9:60b, CEB). The great Saint Augustine realized this diversity in the worldwide
Christian faith. As a result he has a great quote. This quote was plastered on
the wall of the Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan campus in Rochester,
where I attended seminary for my first 2-years. This quote from Saint Augustine
is, “In essentials, unity; in
non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” (http://www.goodreads.com).
Again that quote from Saint Augustine is, “In essentials, unity; in
non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” (http://www.goodreads.com).
What did the great Saint Augustine mean with this quote? Well as I sat in the
classroom on my first night of seminary in 2010, I quickly realized that we had
20 or more Christian dominations represented. We had Baptists, Roman Catholics,
Lutherans, Methodists, Pentecostals, a Mennonite, an Episcopalian, and etc. Do
we have some differences with our Christian brothers and sisters from other
Christian traditions? Yes we do, but imagine if the Christian faith is like a
dart board. We have the bullseye in the middle, and then the surrounding rings.
I believe that Saint Francis was saying let us agree on the bullseye, on most
important things, as he said, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials,
liberty; in all things, charity” (http://www.goodreads.com).
In following Jesus’ directive to “go and spread the news of
God’s kingdom,” if we can agree on the essentials, then the Christian faith
will manifest a little differently everywhere (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). I wonder for
example if you went to a typical Sunday morning United Methodist Church worship
service in Haiti, New York, Russia, Sierra Leone Africa, or in Germany, if those
worship service would all look the same? Would all the hymns be the same? Would
all the people look the same?
I had the pleasure of attending seminary with four great
and loving pastors from the West African Country of Sierra Leone. It would seem
from the interactions that I had with these pastors that some of their cultural
and life realities are different from many of us here in the United States.
These four pastors led a worship service one day at the seminary, and they had
a slew of rhythmic instruments, and other things that I had never seen before.
Yet we agree on the core elements of the Christian faith.
This morning Jesus gives the directive to “go and spread
the news of God’s kingdom” (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). Jesus also intentionally called
twelve disciples who were very different. I wonder what the worship looks like
this morning in West Africa? I wonder what the United Methodist Church does for
worship in Russia? My friends from Sierra Leone told me that church on Sunday
morning goes for a good portion of the day. Anyone want to try that out?
In looking at the gospel reading from this morning from the
Gospel of Luke, the gospel discusses Jesus soon to be ascension into heaven.
The gospel says, “As the time approached when Jesus was to be taken up into
heaven, he determined to go to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead of him.”
(Lk. 9:51-52a, CEB). The gospel then says, “Along the way, they entered a
Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival, but the Samaritan villagers
refused to welcome him because he was determined to go to Jerusalem” (Lk.
9:52b-53, CEB). Interestingly enough the gospel then says, “When the disciples
James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down
from heave to consume them?” But Jesus turned and spoke sternly to them, and
they went on to another village” (Lk. 9:54-56, CEB). I would seem that Jesus,
wanted the Samaritans to ultimately know the truth of who he was. While the
Samaritans were not Jews, Jesus Christ wanted them to know him, and to “go and
spread the news of God’s kingdom.” (Lk. 9:60b, CEB).
The gospel continues saying, “As Jesus and his disciples
traveled along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you
go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nest, but
the Son of Man had no place to lay his head” Then Jesus said to someone else,
“Follow me” (Lk. 9:57-59a, CEB).
What I am learning as a young person, and as a young
pastor, is just how big God is, and how big the gospel of Jesus Christ is. I
saw some of this global church when I was in Israel and Palestine a couple of
years ago. Christians from all over the world. They had different customs,
spoke different languages, but believed in who Jesus Christ was and is. In the
gospels Jesus calls all people to come and follow him, to repent from our sins,
to be baptized, and to be filled by the Holy Spirit. This calling is not just
here, it is worldwide, and it is massive.
When Melissa and I were involved in the young adult service
at our recent Annual Conference we had young people involved of different ages,
and from different places in our conference. We had some different ideas and
perspectives, but we all love Jesus Christ.
The verse that I modeled this sermon around comes next in
the gospel. After Jesus had asked a man to follow him, the gospel says, “He
replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let
the dead bury their own dead. But you go and spread the news of God’s kingdom”
(Lk. 9:59b, CEB). Some might think that Jesus was being unfair with the man he
asked to follow him. I think the point that Jesus was trying to make her, is that
the man’s father had already died his earthly death. That man’s father had
already gone from this earth to eternity, and that the urgency was bring people
to Jesus Christ in here and the now. That Jesus calls us all to “go and spread
the news of God’s kingdom” (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). In a world that is very diverse
and has many different cultures and perspectives, we are all called by Jesus
Christ to “go and spread the news of God’s kingdom,” (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). We also
have to be comfortable with some of our differences.
I remember when I was in seminary, I read about a certain
African culture that largely converted to Christianity many years ago. This
tribe celebrates the sacrament of Holy Communion regularly, but when they do,
they use yams and honey, instead of juice and bread. Well when I read this, I
wasn’t having this! I said to my professor, “why would they do that!” The
professor remarked that in their culture that yams was their bread and in their
culture the juice from heaven was honey. Different I know, but to this certain
African culture, they felt that this was the best way that they could serve
Holy Communion.
The gospel lesson from the gospel of Luke ends this morning
with, “Someone else said, to Jesus, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me
say good-bye to those in my house”. Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand
on the plow and looks back is fit for God’s kingdom” (Lk. 9:61-62, CEB). Jesus again
is displaying what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the “fierce urgency of now”.
Jesus was saying we need to “go and spread the news of God’s kingdom,” and it
can’t wait! (Lk. 9:60b, CEB).
This morning my sisters and brothers, Jesus tells us to “go
and spread the news of God’s kingdom,” (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). Jesus also tells us to
spread this news everywhere, and not tomorrow, but today. For scripture tells
us that tomorrow is promised to no one, as we only are promised today. In being
commanded to “go and spread the news of God’s kingdom,” we will continue to
build a global church that is massive, diverse, and that will manifest
differently everywhere (Lk. 9:60b, CEB). If we follow Saint Augustine’s wise
advice, “In essentials, unity; in
non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity,” I believe that we will have a
diverse church, but one that is rooted in scripture, in the Gospel, in the hope
of Jesus Christ. (http://www.goodreads.com). May it be so! I bring you this
message in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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