July 22, 2001
Vicar Rick Marrs
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text on which this morning's message is based comes from our Gospel lesson read earlier.

Sharing one's faith with others can be scary, I've heard several of you say so. I have been a layperson, like you, for 40+ years myself. I still officially am laity for another few weeks. I too know how difficult in can be to share one's faith, to tell others about Jesus, and our need for a savior before God. We fear saying too much, of turning an unbeliever off to the Gospel. We fear saying the wrong thing, perhaps misrepresenting our Lord, or misguiding someone. We fear saying too little, of communicating that we are somehow ashamed of the Gospel, afraid to speak up for our Lord. We sometimes may even fear speaking the truth about Jesus, simply because we fear that our friends or family might ridicule and reject us. I have a dear friend who subtly rejected me and my message about Jesus a few years ago. She, let's call her Brenda, has been a friend for years, a friend who has followed my career moves and career successes with care. She expressed how proud she was when I finished a master's degree, how proud she was when I became a college professor. She expressed how proud she was when I finished a Ph.D in counseling psychology. She knew that my faith in Jesus was important to me and that I was teaching at Christian colleges because of that faith, but that wasn't why she was proud of me. She thought highly only of the status of my career accomplishments. When she found out that I had decided to attend the seminary and pursue the studies necessary to become a pastor, she didn't express her pride. She told a mutual friend "I had always hoped that Rick would continue doing something important to help people. I'm disappointed that he wants to only be a pastor." Brenda doesn't even know that I know she said this. I think that in her mind then a pastor was simply someone who speaks a few pious platitudes on Sunday mornings, telling people to lead more moral lives so God will be nicer to them. To her pastors had no real power and influence, they are just nice men who give their opinions about God and lead people in singing songs.   When I saw her once a couple years ago, I had a brief opportunity to tell her how excited I was to be studying for the ministry, to be studying to do something that I believed was of great importance: Telling people about Jesus and the eternal life we have in him. I told her how proclaiming this powerful message was simply more important than anything I could do, more important than being a psychologist or a medical doctor or anything, especially since now there is an increasing shortage of pastors. Brenda was polite and smiled and said something like "I'm happy that you're happy." I knew that she was unconvinced that what I was doing was really important. I must admit, I felt subtly rejected in Brenda's eyes, disappointing her expectations of me. I'll come back to Brenda later. As I said a few weeks ago, 60% of you who turned in the Summer Sermon topic questionnaires expressed a desire to hear more about what God's Word says about sharing the Christian faith with others. These Biblical texts, especially our Gospel text, are exquisite in equipping us with the words and the correct motives for sharing our Christian faith. Sometimes we fear sharing our Christian faith with others because we're not quite sure what to say. Jesus' first disciples must have felt about the same way, because Jesus gave them specific instructions, very short instructions, on what to say. "Peace to this house" and "The Kingdom of God is near you." There you go, all you need to know about sharing the Christian faith with others: "Peace to this house" and "The Kingdom of God is near you."

Now, I was being a bit facetious, because these phrases are actually chocked full of Biblical meaning.

Peace, Shalom, in the Bible means more than just an absence of strife between people or nations. Peace, Shalom, means a full life, a life that is richly connected to God and his people. We receive that peace that surpasses all understanding because "The Kingdom of God is near us." That Kingdom of God is the reign of God that began with the creation of the world and will culminate when he returns again for all those who are at peace with him. That reign of God was made most fully evident when he sent his only Son, God himself, to live among us here on earth. The Kingdom of God was near to the disciples in the man Christ Jesus. The reign of God was made most apparent when He ascended his earthly throne, the cross on Golgotha, to show us there that the reign of God is shown in the love that God has for us. Through Jesus, God has made full and complete peace with us. "Peace to this house" and "The Kingdom of God is near you." That is really all we need to remember when want to tell friends and relatives about our faith in Jesus. With those words we can gently guide and restore those who need to know. Maybe for you there is a family member with whom you have a strained relationship. Perhaps they have sinned against you in some way. As Paul said in Galatians, you who are spiritual should restore him gently, watching lest you may be tempted further. Tell them of the peace you have with God in Christ Jesus and how you would like to be at peace with them as well. The Peacemakers materials we have at church could be very helpful in helping you learn to make peace with friends and family in a Christ-centered way. Perhaps you have a co-worker or acquaintance who you know doesn't have a church home. Find a way to gently tell them the "The Kingdom of God is near you" and that they can hear of that reign through the Word's of God spoken in your church.

I think we sometimes worry too much about what we should say because we think we have to be good "salesman" for God. But we don't have to be "selling" God. People don't come to God because of our efforts to win them over. The Holy Spirit is the one empowered to win them over. We don't need to be salesmen for God, only satisfied customers. When our friends and relatives sense the peace and fulfillment we have because God's reign has saved us in Christ Jesus, then they will be more likely to listen to us. Jesus said "He who listens to you listens to me." My friend Paul was traveling on a commercial airline reading his Bible (which is by the way often an effective way to begin witnessing. Even many unbelievers are drawn to the Word of God either out of curiosity or to argue against it). The couple sitting next to him was curious. They described themselves as lapsed Episcopalians who had been experimenting with Buddhism and New Age religions. Paul tried to share with them God's Word about Jesus and how different this message was from human attempts to find God. This couple was convinced that humans could not know the truth about God absolutely, that each person must struggle on their own to develop what is true about God for them, a very post-modern mindset. My friend Paul took a different tack. He inquired: "It sounds to me that you would like it if God Himself would come down to earth and tell us the truth, face-to-face, so we would know what to believe in with confidence?" The couple responded wholeheartedly "Yes." Paul then said "He did. That is what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. God himself came down from heaven and spoke to us face-to-face. He sacrificed Himself so that we can be face-to-face with God now and in the future." Paul, in essence, used the two phrases of Jesus in our text: "Peace to this house" and "The Kingdom of God is near you." He invited the couple to return to listening to God's Word about Jesus that they could find in the Bible. The plane flight ended without them making a profession of faith. They were yet to be convinced. But Paul had been a satisfied customer.

He had told them "The Kingdom of God is near you." I'd like to come back to my friend Brenda now, the friend who was unimpressed with my career choice to be a pastor. I saw her a few months ago. Her husband has been struggling with cancer for the past 18 months. I didn't know. We didn't have an opportunity to talk long, but at the end of our brief conversation she said this "Rick, I understand now why what you are doing is so important." I hadn't done or said anything new to her. But God had taken that little seed of his message about Jesus that I had planted. God had apparently used her husband's illness to bring her face to face with life's ultimates, with life and death.

In these ultimates, no psychologist has the final answers, no medical doctor the permanent cure. In these ultimates, the only final answers and only permanent cures are found in God's word.   The Word tells us that Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, came and provided the power through the cross for our final answer, our final cure. Because he resolutely set his face toward Jerusalem and the cross and grave it brought, we and our houses can be at peace with God. Because in Jesus the Kingdom of God is near us, we can tell others about him. We don't need to be salesmen for God, only satisfied customers. When God has satisfied customers, ones who know and love the power of his forgiveness and new life, he can be the convincing salesman.

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us always. Amen.