Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

While there are many opportunities for preaching on our Gospel for today, I would like to concentrate on two phrases of our Lord, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few

Let me begin with the first portion, the harvest is plentiful. At first blush, this seems to be a statement that is hopelessly out of date. While years ago, people worried about God, today it appears there are precious few of us who are concerned with the Almighty. But my pastoral experience tells me that this is a wrong assumption. God plays a larger role in people’s lives than you might imagine. Actually I am backed up by the polls. 85% of all Americans claim to have some sort of a belief in a higher power. God matters.

So why are so many of our congregations declining? Frankly, I believe that the church often does a poor job in relating to these people. We Lutherans especially seem to delight in some of the arcane language that has been incorporated in our religious vocabulary through the years. Why say communion when we can utter the increasingly impressive word, “Eucharist.” Everyone else would talk about the vestibule; we have a narthex thank you. But at least we do not possess an undercroft.

Yet God is more important in people’s lives than you might imagine. We just have to be very inviting and patient with these immature Christians to help rather than hinder the call of the Holy Spirit to grow in their faith. I firmly believe that we have more opportunities to share Christ in a single week than we could address in a lifetime. It’s just that we don’t recognize these gracious gifts for what they are. I have learned to listen very closely when people drop hints about God or the church because I have come to realize that the Spirit has opened a very significant door and it is my responsibility not simply as a Pastor of the church, but more importantly as a baptized Christian to enter into the sanctuary of that person’s soul and guide them into greater maturity.

But the laborers are few. I have always considered this phrase one of the most poignant in the scriptures. Unfortunately, it is also achingly true. To use nautical terms, Christ needs all hands on deck because the ship of the church (and this is one of the ancient symbols of the Communion of Saints) is facing some serious storms. Perhaps the biggest threat is secularism. The world realizes that in the 21st century its greatest weapon against us is not direct conflict (although some parts of the church certainly face this) but rather indifference. When the Spirit opens up opportunities to share the faith, to offer invitations to come with us to our worship and “taste and see,” all of us need to be ready to act. Evangelism is not the sole responsibility of the Pastors or a small committee of the congregation, but all Christians.

And because God needs all of us, in His wisdom, He sees that we are all empowered in different ways by the same Spirit. Why? Because we all are different and each of us will respond to somewhat different approaches when it comes to the faith. What works for you, does not necessarily work for me. This is why as witnesses we are given unique gifts that we might take advantage of these unique opportunities and address the unique needs of those around us. One size does not fit all. But fortunately, God is the great matchmaker.

A final thought. If we allow the Spirit to act in our lives, we will accomplish more than we realize. Last week, as many of you know, Judy and I got away for a few days in the Poconos. It was especially enjoyable because we were able to spend some time with two other couples. The guys grew up together in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s but had not really seen each other since them. As we shared the stories of those missing decades, I realized that the six of us had touched literally thousands of lives over those four decades. I was struck how time and time again we made a difference in so many lives, educating and nurturing, in addition to providing homes and protection. We proved a varied lot and hopefully the world is a little better place because of what we have done and will continue to do. But we are not unusual in this respect. Look back on your own lives and you will see that by the power of the Spirit, you have made a difference. We are already witnesses; we simply need to recognize this fact and embrace the roles to which God has empowered us. Amen.

July 22, 2007

MARY MAGDALENE

July 22, 2007

THE WAITING WITNESS

John 20:1-2, 11-18

Oh boy. This is one of those precious Sundays in Pentecost where we encounter a special remembrance. This is great for preachers because we only get a chance to consider such individuals once every 4 or 5 years. And Mary Magdalene is certainly a high profile saint these days. So let’s begin by saying a few things about her, mostly what she was not.

First of all, she was not a prostitute although this would certainly add a bit of spice to the sermon. The scriptures say this Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. This could mean many things but probably not that she was a prostitute but rather someone suffering from a serious illness, perhaps psychological. The whole idea of prostitution was the invention of a later Pope who did not care for the attention being lavished on this very popular female Saint. A negative spin.

To state the obvious, she was not a male. And that is significant because we really do not have a lot of females who are highlighted during the church year. Poor Barbara Dresher is always searching for some female on which to preach during our Vespers service. So perhaps I should have started this sermon with the words, “Oh girl.”

And while we are at it, Mary was not Jesus’ wife. Dan Brown aside, Jesus spent more time than we might initially imagine in the company of females. More often than not, they seemed to be the people who supported his earthly ministry through their hospitality and in some cases their substantial funds. In addition to the 12 male disciples, Jesus seemed to have about a half dozen female followers who were among his closer companions. To claim that Mary Magdalene was his wife is to take a rather large leap of somewhat impious imagination. This may make for best sellers, but there is no particular scriptural basis for the claim.

To change to a positive perspective, what was she? I like to call her the waiting witness. Look at our Gospel for today. 11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. She ran to share, but then she waited. And because she waited, she became, if John is correct, the very first witness to the resurrected Christ. 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). This, by the way is why she is holding an egg on our bulletin cover. The egg is a sign of the resurrection with new life coming from the tomb of the shell, appropriate for her role.

Her lesson should not be lost on us. We should act when the opportunity arises, but we also need to learn to wait. Given the whole controversy that the Pope stirred up with his recent pronouncements on the place of the Roman Catholic Church on the path to salvation, I would like to look back at a mighty of Christian unity offered by his predecessor following in the footsteps of our Mary. We must go back a little over two years. Here is a portion of the Reuters report.

“An ailing Pope John Paul appeared at his window to bless the faithful on Easter Sunday but in a dramatic episode that brought tears to the eyes of many, he failed in his attempt to speak. When aides brought a microphone to the Pope's mouth he made a few sounds and breathed heavily but was unable to pronounce any words. The Pope sat at his window for about 15 minutes listening to the end of an Easter Sunday service before he tried to speak. He looked uncomfortable and put both hands to his face. After failing to speak, the man once known as "The Great Communicator" gently patted the arms of his chair in an apparent sign of disappointment and frustration.”

It was, you may recall, an incredibly sad moment. And to continue the saga, the Pope only weakened and was dead shortly thereafter. But remember his funeral. More people watched that funeral, and heard the great proclamation of the Gospel of Christ’s victory over the forces of death, than had ever been heard before. John Paul’s last act of ministry on this earth was perhaps his greatest witness of all.

11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. Sometimes we must wait to become the witnesses to the resurrection. But rest assured, like Mary and her egg, our time will come. Amen.