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The fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, 08/21/2016
Sermon on Luke 13:10-17, by Evan S. McClanahan
Jeremiah 1:4-19, Psalm 71: 1-6, Hebrews 12:18-29, Luke 13:10-17
For about the past five years, I have been involved in Christian apologetics in one way or another. Either as a consumer of debates, a host of debates, a radio show, and Sunday School classes, I have been interested in the variety of arguments defending the existence of God, objective morality, Intelligent Design, the irrationality of atheism, among others. In that time, I have grown in my appreciation for the reality of God and the truth of his revelation.
I also better understand the temptation to become seen or known as someone who is good at defending the faith, and I assure you its a temptation as dangerous as any other. For the longer I swim in the sea of Christian apologetics, though, the more I notice that it can become little more than opportunities for in-hose arguments among those already “in the know.” Give it enough time, and eventually, one apologist starts to go after another, at first over legitimate theological questions, but eventually over something petty. As various apologists seek to build their own ministries – and increase their own followings – they begin to resent other apologists and tear them down. And soon, defending the faith to those outside of the faith is lost to in-house squabbles and in some cases, pretty nasty name-calling.
Now, I realize that some of this is unavoidable because to defend the faith well, you need to discern what it is you believe and why. That discernment process will lead to potentially very useful debates and conversations. But so long as we are fighting each other, we will not stand united when the unbeliever comes with questions or even attacks. For that reason, I make the effort to be fair-minded and open to Christians of varying stripes so we will be as unified as possible against those who oppose Jesus. I assure you, though, this is a discipline. It would be easier just to hunker down with exactly like-minded Lutherans, of which there are three on this planet.
Because, you see, there is always some fault to find in someone else. And not just in the world of apologetics and debate, but in our daily interactions with other Christians, we must guard against a competitive spirit that restricts the work of God in the world. We must never let our work become so “in-house” focused that we neglect those who are not even in the fold. We must guard against having certainty in all the wrong things, and our confidence and certainty becoming a stiff-necked and stubborn resistance to the Spirit of God.
This brings us to our Gospel lesson. During his ministry, Jesus healed many. And sometimes, he healed on the Sabbath. You can understand why this happened a lot, because Jesus was not traveling on the Sabbath, but could be found in a synagogue. And when a woman who had been oppressed by a spirit for 18 years found him and he healed her, it was the old protective, competitive spirit that reared its ugly head. Instead of seeing Jesus as the fulfillment of everything they held dear, and instead of giving glory to God for this miracle of healing, a fellow Jew rejects Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.
So consumed with jealousy, or righteous indignation was the leader of the synagogue, that he forgot to delight in the goodness of God! So concerned was he to protect what he had, to keep it the way it was that he turned against Jesus. And this isn’t the only time this happens in the New Testament. Again and again, Jesus is criticized for showing mercy to those in need, often because of technical infractions. In Olympic terms, he did the routine perfectly and stuck the landing, but because he filled out some paperwork wrong, he can’t win a medal.
I’ve already noted this danger in apologetic circles. Do we struggle with this in our congregations? You had better believe it. Christian churches should be among the most public and open places in the world. But are we always open to the work of God among us? If we are at all honest, we know the answer is “No.” Sure, congregations should have boundaries. We exercise discipline. Being “open” and “public” doesn’t mean “anything goes.”
But assuming no serious theological concern or question or a lack of repentance is what we’re talking about, we should basically be open. We should at the very least be inviting of others, and show hospitality. We should welcome new people among us, desiring not to just have “in-house” gatherings, but desiring to share the Word of God with others. And we should welcome those especially who are still babes in the faith, who are not perhaps as mature as we are, who are on the way to learning more. We should welcome those who do not look like us or talk like us, but sincerely desire to come closer to Jesus Christ. And when we don’t, it is more than bad manners. It is sin.
I recently received a book written by a retired pastor who visited over 100 churches in the Houston area after retiring. He had the same method for visiting each congregation. He would wait to be addressed, and did not introduce himself to anyone. Would you believe that in over half – 52% – of the congregations, no one so much as said “Hello” from the time he entered the building until the time he left. Can you imagine?
What if he was someone who had returned to the church after years of neglect? His willingness to be vulnerable was certainly not rewarded. What if he walked in assuming Christians were hypocrites who didn’t care for others? His suspicions would have been confirmed. What if he had experienced a tragic or sad event recently? He would know not to look to the church for any consolation.
It matters. It matters very much that we not become the “in-house” group that has a hard time accepting new or different people in our midst. The world will judge us, whether its right or wrong, fair or not, by how we treat them, if we welcome them, and if we can embrace them, particularly when they are different from us. For when we turn aside those who come into our community and our place of worship, we should consider that we are denying Christ himself. For what good does it do our neighbor to love God, but not love our neighbor?
It is not possible that we experience the love of Christ, the mercy of knowing we are forgiven, that God is good and loving, that redemption is always possible, and not want to share that with others. As we look at megachurches and complain that we’re dying and the future of our faith is bleak, is it any wonder when we don’t so much as say hello to visitors 52% of the time? If we act like the leader of the synagogue and resist the work of God, we certainly can’t blame God for shrinking his Church.
Let us act instead like the person we are in this story. You are the woman who was in bondage to sin, who was bent over and spiritually dead before Christ brought us from death to life. The story of the cross and the resurrection is a story that applies to you. Jesus has healed you. You possess the promise of everlasting life. How dare we keep such good news to ourselves, especially when others seek out what we have to say! By God’s grace, we have been saved. By God’s grace, let us rejoice when others seek to join us. Amen.