Easter 4 - May 11th 2014
Our first reading this morning came from the book of Acts. We hear about the devotion that many of the early Christians had to the teachings of the Apostles and Jesus. “They would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” “They ate their food with glad and generous hearts.” The apostles were the first people to hear Jesus’ words and act on them. Not always perfectly, but they did strive to apply them to their everyday life. In essence, they are the first missionaries.
Some
2000 years later, and here I stand as a current day missionary of the church. As
a member of the Young Adult Service Corps, the Episcopal Church considers me to
be a missionary. I have the wonderful opportunity to serve here at St. Paul’s
this year, as well as an incredible experience working in the mountains of
Lesotho last year with the YASC program. Both my time here and in Lesotho have
given me great insight into the work that the church is doing in the world.
But a missionary? Am I a missionary!?
Certainly not me.
At
a training seminar I went to before leaving for Lesotho a few years ago, myself
and all the other about-to-be-missionaries were asked to stand on a line based
on how comfortable we were with being labeled as a missionary. I didn’t even
have to think about it, I tried to get as far away from the term as possible. I
couldn’t even begin to think of myself as a missionary. I had this idea in my mind
of what a missionary was, which is an idea that many in our world can resonate
with. My understanding of a missionary was someone that was sent out from their
home, usually abroad, with the sole purpose of evangelizing and converting
people to Christianity. Yikes… That’s what I thought of as mission work, and I
tried vehemently to stay away from it and not own it.
While
there is some truth in this characterization of a missionary, it really misses
the point on so many levels. What I like about our reading from Acts this morning
is that it talks about the importance of practicing our faith with concrete
actions, not just words. Selling our possessions to benefit the needy, spending
time in community with others, celebrating the many gifts given to us by God. But
to be fair, this passage comes directly after the account of Peter converting
and baptizing 3,000 people with one speech. If you can do that, more power to
you! The Apostles evangelization and mission work is two fold. I think the
reason Peter’s words were so
effective is because they are backed up by the actions of the church and
community forming around him.
The
Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion have 5 marks of mission that briefly
define what the mission of the church is. They are:
-To
proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
-To
teach, baptize and nurture new believers
-To
respond to human need by loving service
-To
seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every
kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
-To
strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of
the earth.
What I hear when I read those 5 short sentences is a balance
between word and action. A single mark cannot define the whole mission. It is
only together that they start to give a real picture of what we are called to
do in the church. When I read these, I always question myself about where my
initial fears of mission work came from? Why was I so scared to accept this
term?
Before heading out to serve in Lesotho, I remember that I
used the term missionary very selectively. I specifically remember never using
it around many of my college friends, who didn’t have the same faith background
as myself. I wouldn’t use it even in a church setting because when I did, it felt
like there were a lot of predetermined expectations attached to the word that
didn’t really define what I was doing. And these expectations are well founded.
Unfortunately, mission work does have a nasty and ugly side. There have been
some very dark times in the mission of the church; the crusades, the
inquisition, and colonization to name a few. I have no doubt that these
overtones played a huge part in my avoidance of the term.
What I’ve come to realize since those early days of my
missionary experience is that when I don’t use the word, I am letting others
define what the mission of the church is. By not owning the term, I am
conceding to the negative influences that distract from our mission and our
responsibilities in Christ. If you believe that the work that the church is
doing is for the betterment of the world, then it is time that we reclaim this
term and stop letting others define what our mission is and what our work can
do.
Today’s gospel reading echoes this idea wonderfully. “Jesus
said, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by
the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.” Jesus calls us
his sheep. We know his voice, and he leads us. When we let others define our
mission, we are listening to the thieves and bandits that are trying their
hardest to get into the fold, to distract us, and to lead us away from God. The
thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came so that we may have life,
and have it abundantly.
What forces in your life are thieves and bandits, robbing
you of your connection with God?
Thinking back to my college days, I avoided truly owning my
faith when talking about why I was going to Lesotho. I found ways to describing
what I was doing without fully divulging that it was my faith that was calling
me to head out and volunteer for year of my life. I caved to my perception of societal
pressures, and was robbed of an opportunity to practice my faith. In this case,
the thief was my own fear of being accepted for who I am.
No matter what the thieves and bandits are in your life, Jesus
reassures us today that we, as sheep, will run from the thieves and bandits
because we do not know them, we know
that their way is false. He doesn’t say that we will run from them immediately,
but eventually we will return to the true path. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and
like all good shepherds, he will not rest until all his sheep have returned to
the fold.
Apostolic succession is a term used in the church normally
to describe a continuous line of ministers back to the early Church. The Pope
is a great example of this, as there is a direct and documented line from Pope
Francis back to St. Peter. Although our line back to the apostles may not be as
documented as the Pope’s, we do have a line, a connection, back to the Apostles
and the early missionaries of the Church, and thus to Jesus. Someone nurtured
you as a new believer, brought you into the flock, just as someone else did it
for them, and so on and so forth. Documented or not, we are the successors of
the first missionaries, each and every one of us.
If you still have doubts about your missionary status,
that’s ok. It took me a long time to come to terms with mine. If you want to
build a community where we don’t just preach peace and understanding, but
practice it, you are a missionary. If you believe in continuing the tradition
of teaching others about our faith, you are a missionary. If you want to
acknowledge and address the issues in our world, countries, cities, and homes,
then you are a missionary. If you
want to let your faith in Christ shine forth and inspire others, then you are a
missionary. The greatest thing about our calling is that we get to make the
church the force of change that we so desperately need in the world. We are all
missionaries, and I look forward to building this flock with you all.
