Evangelism
A sermon by The Rev. Wallace Adams-Riley
Rector, St. Paul's Episcopal Church
February 7, 2010 -- The Fifth Sunday after The Epiphany
Listen to the Sermon
Sermon Text
Dear God,
take my lips and speak through them;
take our minds, and think through them;
take our hearts and set them on fire;
Amen.
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There are many ways to fish. This morning, ice fishing comes to mind, for some reason.
My father-in-law has gone ice fishing all his life, up in Vermont, where he lives. Setting up a shanty, out on the ice of some local pond or lake, with some friends, and then drilling through the ice, building a fire, dropping a few lines, and then kicking back for a few hours.
One of my best fishing memories is pulling a seine through the shallows of a tidal creek in the Low Country of South Carolina: slowing pulling the seine through the water, and then, periodically, pulling it up on the muddy bank, to find squid, crabs, and fish of all sorts.
You can also fly fish. You can go deep sea fishing. You can even spear fish.
And in the deep South, there's a sport called "noodling," where you catch certain large catfish by using your hand as bait: you stick your hand into the holes where these fish live; they shallow your hand; and then you yank them out.
Uh, yeah, there are many ways to catch a fish.
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Yes, there are many ways to catch .people, as Jesus put it.
Many ways to fish for people, as we obey Jesus' command to go and make disciples.
Yes, many ways.
And we Episcopalians are more at home with some ways of fishing for people than others.
Noodling is just not really our style.
Nor is spring break at Miami Beach in a bikini (as some evangelical groups are wont to do).
Or is it?
(No, I just can't see David Wofford in a bikini.)
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That's right, some ways of fishing suit us better, some come more naturally, than other ways of fishing. This is as true for Baptists as it is for Episcopalians. We have our tendencies, if you will; our proclivities.
And that's all well and good.
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Something St. Francis is purported to have said harmonizes nicely with the way we Episcopalians approach evangelism; evangelism, or "the e word," as I once heard an Episcopalian call it.
Francis said, "Proclaim the Gospel always; use words when necessary."
(You may have heard the line before.)
"Proclaim the Gospel always; use words when necessary."
We like that. That's what Micah is about; and Emmaus. And Mwitikira. And Haiti.
And that's what countless acts of kindness and generosity are about, throughout the course of each day, and each week, and each year:, as we proclaim the Gospel by the way we live:, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our schools, and on street corners. By God's grace, that's what we aspire to do, every day, of our lives: to proclaim the Gospel, to share the Gospel, to bring others to Christ; yes, to evangelize by the way we live.
Christ commanded us to catch people, to evangelize, to make disciples, whatever words we might use, he commanded us to do so, and we Episcopalians, generally speaking, would rather live it, would rather embody it, would rather incarnate it, than actually verbalize that proclamation, that invitation. The living-of-it is just more comfortable for us than the speaking.
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However, what about the second half of what Francis said? And, in particular, that word.. "necessary"?
"Use words when necessary."
When are words necessary?
Dare we ask if they're ever necessary?
I mean, do we really have to actually say anything?
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Do we really have to actually say anything?
A few lines from our new bishop's address to his first council speak right to the matter.
Last Friday afternoon, just a few hours after being invested here at St. Paul's as the Thirteenth Bishop of Virginia, Bishop Shannon said,
"A few years ago, a study was done that examined a ten-year period in which un-churched persons became active in a congregation and lapsed members ‘came back' to church. The study showed that fully nine out of every ten people came to church simply because someone they knew or had some association with asked them. That's up to each and every one of us, and I hope you find it encouraging to know how much opportunity and power we have to make such a difference in someone's life..."
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"Simply because someone they knew or had some association with asked them."
"To know how much opportunity and power we have to make such a difference in someone's life."
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Yes, yes, sometimes words are necessary.
And those words don't have to be anything scarier than "Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to come to church with me this Sunday. You've heard me talk about St. Paul's. Yeah, you gotta hear our new preacher: in his sermons, he talks about things like spring break and men in bikinis..."
Actually, now that I think about it: that is scary.
(If he starts coming up the aisle, y'all please give me a signal.)
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No, no, it doesn't have to be any scarier than, "Hey, how about join me for church this Sunday? And brunch afterwards will be my treat. How about that? You'll be glad you came. It'll be fun."
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"Simply because someone they knew or had some association with asked them."
"To know how much opportunity and power we have to make such a difference in someone's life."
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Yes, words are sometimes necessary.
Necessary if we are to obey our Lord.
And, no, it doesn't have to be scary.
As Jesus said, "Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. You don't need to be afraid from now on you will be catching people."
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And don't do it only because Jesus said to do it.
And don't it merely for St. Paul's Church.
Do it because you have found, in Jesus, the abundant life, an abundant love, a boundless love.
Do it, yes, because of what you have found in Christ; and because you want to share what you have found in Christ.
Do it, as the Psalmist says, do it, to make good God's purpose for your life.
Do it, and you will be amazed.
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So, into the deep we go; yes, into the deep waters, and we may feel (we will feel) vulnerable at times, but, as the Captain said, we need not be afraid. We need not be afraid.
For he is with us; and he is at the helm.
Yes, into the deep water we go, and he says, cast that net; cast it, and cast it wide, and you will be amazed... amazed.
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If you say so, Lord, if you say so.
