The Reverend Charleston David Wilson
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (A)
The Reverend Charleston David Wilson
Church of the Redeemer
In the Name of the Living God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus said, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” Other translations say, “…and the gates of hades will not prevail against it.” Either way it’s pretty easy to see at least one point Jesus is making.
And the point is this: there are powers – evil powers – that are in opposition to God’s plan of redemption, seeking to destroy the work of the Church. And, although we have our Saviour’s guarantee that these powers will not prevail, we still must face the fact that evil forces do indeed exist, and they are actively working against us.
I think an illustration is in order. And my illustration comes from spending a lifetime of watching American college football, especially my beloved Auburn Tigers. I know some of you prefer the Gators, and some of you prefer the Seminoles. They are both fine clubs. One of things I love about Redeemer, as superficial as it may seem, is that this is a football-loving parish.
And football is great for illustrations, because the game is pretty straightforward. On one side you have the offense, and, on the other, you’ve got the defense. Pardon Captain Obvious here today, but, in case you don’t like or know about football, offense, as the word indicates, is all about being on the offensive – moving the ball and scoring all the points for the win. And playing defense is, as you can surely guess, is all about preventing the ball’s movement – in a word, being defensive.
As a side note – and I’ve just realized this – I have to tell you just how hilariously ironic it is that I, of all people, am up here telling anyone about football. I love the sport dearly, but I’m afraid I was utterly hopeless when it came to playing it. My poor dad thought he could mould me into the next Joe Namath or Bo Jackson. Poor fellow!
But I do have some credibility. I did in fact have one big, shining moment. I actually played one play in one game one time in middle school. And that, too, is hilarious, because the only reason I got to play was because it was an away game, and the bus carrying the starting line broke down somewhere along the way.
The bus I was on, carrying the 5th and 6th string and all the equipment, somehow arrived first. And, in order to avoid a forfeiture of the entire game by not starting on time, which is the rule, the coaches dressed me all up and put me in for the first play of the game! I looked like one of those over-sized bobble-head dolls you buy at an interstate truck stop. I’m way off track now. Is this a sermon? Anyway, we lost – and we lost bigtime.
Back to my illustration. I said I had one. Here we go. When Jesus said, “… I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it,” do you think He was talking about a church that should play a good offense to overwhelm the evil powers, or do you think He was looking for a church that really should stick to defense by finding ways to protect itself from attack?
Should we play offense or do we play defense? That is the question today! And that’s the question the 21st century Church has yet to answer.
I’m really asking you about your basic ecclesiology – what you believe the Church with a capital “C” fundamentally is and what it is supposed to do. And I’ve seen well-meaning Christians express their views in several different ways.
Some people I know and love look around and say, “Alas, the Church; the Church has lost its way, and is now declining in modern Western culture.” And they sort of shrug their shoulders and almost resign themselves to steady decline, as if things have to be that way.
For the record, that’s not offense or defense! That’s not even playing in the game. That’s not even getting a ticket to the game! That’s apathy, and indifference is not of God.
Others I know and love tell me the future of the Church lies in what I would call playing better defense. To keep the evil powers away, the future health of the Church, they tell me, lies in making entry harder, making doctrine clearer and building a purer and more faithful Church.
While I’m all for clear and sound doctrine, and growth in personal holiness, I must say this approach sounds all rather Puritanical or Pharisaical – like a bunch of Pharisees doing a little navel-gazing and marveling over their own supposed holiness.
Whatever happened to a humble, welcoming community of empowered believers with a gospel to share and a world to bless? I don’t believe defense is the way to win this game.
Finally, there are others I know and love who tell me the Church does have something worth sharing – that it was created for the sole purpose of sharing something, and that “something” is worth moving down the field at all costs.
And that something has a name, and His name is Jesus Christ – the friend of sinners, who was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who lived, ministered, died and rose again all because He loves us and will do whatever it takes to be in a relationship with us.
And the church that knows that knows Him and shares Him is the Church on offense! And it is that sort of Church that the evil powers of hell shall never overtake!
I thank God Almighty that He is calling us – each one of us – to play offense, giving us boldness and courage, and the supernatural strength of the Holy Spirit, as we share that same old story of God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and reconciliation found in His son Jesus Christ.
While others lament and give up – and still some call for a country club of saints instead of hospital for sinners – the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of which you and I became members through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, as our friend Bp. Michael Marshall describes it, “is the Church that exists solely to make new Christians and to make all Christians new.” That’s what “doing church,” as some call it, is all about.
And this, my friends, is also what our building campaign, “Christ is Our Foundation,” is all about. It’s not about bricks and mortar; it’s about making new Christians and making all Christians new. (Rt. Rev. Michael Marshall.)
In the end, I must confess that my football metaphor, as all metaphors do, stops making sense, because the mission of the Church isn’t about winning a football game. The game, if you will, was won long ago – on Easter morn. “Death is conquered. Man is free. Christ has won the victory.”
You and I have the high privilege – the signal honour – of being called Christians – followers of the Way of Jesus Christ. And, by Him and with Him and in Him, we are more than mere winners could ever hope to be: “We are more than conquerors through Him” who first loved us (paraphrases from Romans 8:31 and 1 John 4:19).
Sermon preached by the Rev. Charleston D. Wilson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
12th Sunday after Pentecost
27 August 2017