Just What Does Jesus Want From Us?
Rev. Eugene N. Nelson, Jr.
The Community Church of Sebastopol
October 24, 2004 Our 115th Anniversary
Matthew 28: 16-20
A pastor writes about a trip to the movies with his grandsons. “We went to see Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. I was determined to take them to see this, even though when we arrived they said, ‘We’ve already seen this, but you have to see it lots of times.’ Not wanting to be totally ignorant, I had inquired around about the movie before we went. I learned the name, ‘Luke Skywalker.’ But that is about all I had. We went to a crowded theater. The movie started and in just a few minutes there was loud applause. We had just gotten there and there was applause. I asked the boys, ‘What’s the applause for?’ “’Those two are Jedi,’ they said.”
“I said, ‘Well, of course.’”
As the movie went on, it became increasingly clear that I didn’t know anything about it, so I asked my ten-year-old grandson next to me, ‘When is Luke Skywalker going to appear?’
“He said, ‘Luke Skywalker hasn’t been born yet.’
“I said, ‘Well I know the name, Luke Skywalker, and I know he is a good guy.’
“He answered, ‘You see, Grandpa, Episodes 4, 5, and 6 came out, and now we’re gonna have 1,2, and 3.’
“’So that’s why everyone in here seem to know so much,’ I said.
“’Yeah, everybody knows about them. We have them at home if you want to look at them.’
“’Thanks, but I don’t think so,’ I said. ‘But that’s rather strange having episode 1 after you’ve had 4, 5 and 6.’
“’Gramps,’ he said, ‘this is a prequel. It’s before the others.’
Says the minister, “Well, when he said that, I was immediately at home, because that is the way the Bible is. You know the end before the beginning. Easter shines back through every story, including the story of Jesus’ birth. You know the end before the beginning.”
He continues, “I know the sequel to the Bible and so do you. There are churches everywhere...Everywhere in the world, somebody is reading the Bible and worshiping God and learning about Jesus. That’s the sequel. But what’s the prequel? This text from Matthew is the prequel. This is the way it started. The risen Christ on an unnamed mountain, with his disciples…”
And what does Jesus say? “Go…make disciples of all nations…baptize…preach and teach.” These are his marching orders for the first church. This is what he would have that church do and be. Well, 115 years ago a few folks, just a handful really, heard his words, took them seriously, and started a church in Sebastopol. By God’s grace that church is still here today. We are that church. We are now the sequel, still seeking to be faithful to the words first uttered in the prequel: “Go…make disciples…baptize…teach.” What might those marching orders mean today? As we think about today and the next 115 years, just what does Jesus want from us?
As I was thinking about this sermon and about our celebration today, I came across these words from Art Buchwald, words spoken to a graduating class in 1998. He said, “We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today. I personally don’t think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years from now before admitting that today was pretty great. If you are hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday, and just go out and have one hell of a time.”
He wasn’t talking about churches, but he could have been. Almost every church I know seems to have a strong institutional memory of the “good old days,” those days when the Sunday School rooms were full every Sunday and the ushers could barely lift the filled to overflowing offering plates. Those were the days! Nostalgia is big in the church. Today it was great hearing Joyce tell stories of the way we were and honor all those saints who went before us. We build on their faithful legacy. Trouble is, too many churches fall into the habit of believing that “the future ain’t what it used to be,” and that our best days are behind us. Do you think that is true? Is it true of this church? I hope it isn’t true of us; I don’t believe it is true of us.
It seems to me that dreaming of the way we used to be just isn’t going to cut it. I like these words of Steve Sterner, a United Church of Christ pastor – actually, he’s my parents’ pastor in Phoenix: “Too much of what passes for faith today is nothing other than embalmed tradition. We believe in a living faith, a faith that is yet unfolding before us, that requires of us an openness to the future, that will not let us be trapped by traditions of the past. God is still alive, and if God is still alive, then there is still more to come. To be open to experiencing that newness, that continuing expression of God’s presence among us is what it means to be a seeker…”
“God is still speaking” proclaims the banner you will see on our sculpture today. Our denomination, the United Church of Christ, believe it or not, has launched some television ads. These ads are going to be an expression, I think, of how the future might look for our churches. I thought I would play those ads for you (TV ads play for the congregation).
What does Jesus want from us? “Make disciples of all nations,” says Jesus. Not just some nations, some people, but all of the people. I believe this is a huge part of what Jesus wants from this church…and when he says ‘making disciples’ a better translation might really be ‘discipling’, using disciple as a verb. ‘Disciple others.’ That doesn’t mean ‘coercing others’ , it doesn’t mean ‘threatening others’ – come to our church or go to hell…. Disciple others, love others, care for others and provide a welcome, hospitable place for all the people.
A colleague tells this story: “I remember when we lost our farm when I was a kid. We moved into town, into a little four-room house, a small house on a dirt street. We had one spigot out in the yard, but no water in the house, no electricity, and the toilet was out back. We were so very poor and having a rough time.
“My sister was entering high school then. She had trouble with her complexion when she was moving into her teens, you know, pockmarked face and always worrying about it and keeping her head down and combing her hair over part of her face. She was bothered by it and it was just terrible. Then one day in the mail my sister got an invitation from Cullen Lyle to a slumber party. Now you don’t know Cullen, but she was the prettiest girl in high school. Her father was a wealthy businessman, and they lived up on Main Street, and my sister got an invitation to her slumber party. And I heard my sister after she was seventy years old speak of the importance of that invitation.”
All the people…all the people. That is the reasoning behind the sculpture which we are dedicating today. “All God’s people, all God’s people, got a place in the choir.” When people drive by and see it, I want them to know that all God’s children have a place on this ark, have a place in our church. Even heathens like Joanne Feige for heaven’s sake! We’ll stay with you Joanne! Perhaps, by God’s grace, along the way, each of us might have the opportunity to issue an invitation of welcome that will be as meaningful to someone as a slumber party invitation was to a dirt-poor teenager with ravaged skin. Welcome all the people. That’s what Jesus wants from us.
One final thought on this text and our theme for today – “teach.” Jesus tells us to teach. I must confess that at times when church attendance is down, when church finances are down, and I’m feeling down, I look to some of the superstar churches – the mega-churches. You’ve heard of them. I’ve worshipped in a few. These churches are consumer conscious, consumer oriented, consumer driven. They have rock bands and orchestras, sermons supported with PowerPoint illustrations and other audio/visual wizardry, Starbucks coffee being poured in the lobby. And the people come – huge crowds every Sunday, bigger than probably any of us have ever seen in a church on Sunday. Now you should know that there are voices out there today suggesting that the era of the mega-church is already beginning to wane. I don’t know about that, but I suspect we will never be one anyway. However, I know what we can be.
“You would think that if Jesus’ disciples had seen him turn water into wine and heal a blind man, that they would have begun to understand who he was. How could they follow him every day and still be so clueless?” This was a question from a Thursday morning Men’s Bible study. “What attracts me to church is a sense of community, but the Gospel of John seems to be about believing in all the right things and I just don’t know if I agree with that.” This from our Sunday morning adult class. “A friend of mine committed suicide, and her minister said it was an unpardonable sin. Is that true? Did Jesus ever say anything about suicide?” This from a fourteen-year-old girl at church camp. “Do you think those boys who killed their classmates and teachers at Columbine High School can ever be forgiven?” This from a sixteen-year-old at church camp.
I don’t know if Jesus wants us to be a mega-church, although a little less budget pressure certainly would be nice, but I do believe with all my heart that he wants us to be a church where questions like these – tough questions, searching questions, life-touching questions – can be freely asked and grappled with in an atmosphere of mutual discovery. Let this be our niche, if we want to use a marketing term. Let us dare to say to Sonoma County, we aren’t afraid of your questions here and we certainly aren’t afraid of new truths which may emerge from our Bible study or reading other works or even from our shared worship. “Teach”, said Jesus, teach because God truly is still speaking; teach because people want to be touched, even challenged, at the deepest points in their lives; teach because people desperately want to know something about God.
How are we doing after 115 years? We face significant challenges to be sure. We aren’t as welcoming as we could be, we aren’t as financially sound as we could be, our sanctuary is not as full every Sunday as it could be. But the other day a young woman in our Sunday morning class told me how much she appreciated the give and take in the class and the acceptance of a wide variety of theological views. You will soon get a letter from a young family in our church expressing their appreciation for this church’s welcome, acceptance and openness. We have challenges to be sure, but goodness, so much to build on, so much to build on.
Prequel: “Go…make disciples…baptize…teach.”
Sequel: The Community Church of Sebastopol, United Church of Christ. Friends, even after 115 years of faithfulness, there is so much of God’s good news still to be shared. We have only just begun. I don’t know about you, but I find that wonderfully exciting.