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Sunday October 18, 2009 "Risky Business" Luke 4:18-19 |
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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 10/21/2009 4:29 PM | This faith stuff is very definitely risky business.
Look at our messiah if you have any doubts about that. Fully divine, fully human, he walked among the people of Israel and Palestine and taught and lived and ministered and preached. Then he died because of what he had dared to say and do.
The example of Jesus is one that we must take to heart if we are to understand the notion of risk taking, because his life and death are the very definition of risk taking. Stepping out in faith to do God’s will and to serve God’s people. Moving beyond one’s comfortable existence and putting one’s very life at risk.
Jesus’ ministry in it’s broadest sense was a ministry of service. Service to all of humanity by providing a link to a relationship with God. Service to those sick and suffering he met along the way by providing healing. Service to those who were the outsiders by providing hope. It is the hallmark of his ministry and as the church of Jesus Christ, it is one of the guideposts along our way to truly “Becoming the Church.”
As we continue this series on becoming the church we move to the second of the marks of what it means to be the church. Last week we talked about the importance of study and fellowship and worship as a true community. We talked about how the church must do it’s best to move forward TOGETHER to provide comfort and strength for those members of the gathered community.
Today we move to the second mark of the church: service. But it’s more than just that. At the core of the church’s commitment to service is an equally important element: risk-taking.
I have given many sermons on what it means to serve. Many of you know that it is a key part of my theology that Jesus came to serve and as the body of Christ, we are called to do the same. The scripture we heard read this morning is the heart and soul of that theology: Jesus announcing from the very beginning that his mission was service to the marginalized in society. His ministry would be to allow people a glimpse of God’s redeeming grace and bountiful love. His reason for being was to model that grace and love to all he came in contact with.
Make no mistake, this was a mission that was fraught with risk. Jesus put himself at risk in so many different ways. First, declaring that he was anointed by God to carry out this prophecy of Isaiah smacked of heresy and blasphemy to the temple leadership of his day. Second, his good news was for the poor, and, if he was perceived as being legitimate, this would have put him at odds with the movers and shakers of Palestine and Israel. Third, he was to work to release the captives and for the freedom of the oppressed. Well, if you are one of the law abiding people of the region, do you want the captives to be released? Hey, they’re captives for a reason! Most likely it’s because they are criminals. Finally, Jesus says he is going to free the oppressed. What do you think the powers that be would think of that? Oppressed? There’s no one here that’s oppressed! Why he must be saying something about us and our system.
Let’s see, by declaring and undertaking this risk-taking mission and service, Jesus runs up against the religious authorities, the economic elites, good law and order types and the political power of the region.
All I can say is “wow.”
It’s pretty clear: Jesus came to serve those who needed the most help.
Oh, and by the way, we are called to do the same.
Our mission and service efforts may not be exactly the same that Jesus outlined using the prophecy of Isaiah as a guide. But one thing that we will recognize in our efforts to follow Jesus’ lead is that any service involves risk-taking. It involves stepping out of our own comfort zone and taking actions that will actually put us at some risk: psychologically,
spiritually and maybe even physically.
Now, over the years, I have learned a lot about this notion of risk-taking.
First of all, risk taking is relative. All of us have different thresholds for risk. All of us have different definitions for what risky behavior is. But my experience tells me that if we are to truly step out and serve in the name of Jesus Christ, there will be some risk involved.
For some of us, going out and purchasing the toiletries and other supplies to be used for hygiene kits for the City of Refuge might be our first step into reaching out in the name of Jesus Christ to those in need. Not overly risky behavior, but as a first step, it might lead us to become more involved, which might pose risks to our peace of mind and potentially upset the way we view the world.
For some, standing up in front of this congregation, or a Sunday school class may be an example of stress inducing risky business. Both of those activities fall under the category of service and we always need people who can fill those roles. But each week, people step out in faith and risk their sense of comfort and fulfill rolls admirably.
For some, going down to the City of Refuge for our annual Disciples “More Hands for God” Day is a risk. Fear of the unknown, uncertainty about our safety, anxiety about how we will react to the poverty and depression that permeates the neighborhood surrounding the City of Refuge. A concern that we will not be up to the task of interacting with people so very different than ourselves. A nagging feeling that we will do something wrong and make the situation worse.
For some of us, our risk taking mission will lead us to more direct involvement with a need. Mission that will literally put us in harms way through working directly with dangerous populations or in far away places.
So, don’t feel like you are not doing enough if you are not going to Africa for a month long medical mission. Risk is relative, yet we all need to find that place where we can work in the name of Jesus Christ.
The second thing that I have learned over the years about risk is that when we do indeed step out in any sort of risk taking mission of service in the name of Jesus Christ, we make a difference. No action is too small. No problem is too big. When we do it in the name of our Lord and Savior, we have made a difference. We may not end hunger when we contribute food and volunteer time to the Oglethorpe Food Pantry, but we will make a difference in someone’s life, and this may be the day that changes their life.
The third thing I have learned is that undertaking risk taking mission is the best way to change our idea of risk and to push us to expand our efforts in service to others.
At a former church, we had several service days in which multiple groups would go into the community to serve the city’s needy in different ways. One of the things we always did was make sandwiches at the church for a local shelter. We wanted to make sure that there was a project for everyone, no matter their age or physical abilities. It also allowed those who were too intimidated to go into the community to still be able to engage in mission, if at a lower risk level.
One of the older ladies of the church, I’ll call here Mary, was one of those who regularly showed up to make sandwiches. She was the leader of one of the women’s groups and a long time leader in the church. After one of our service days, she began to talk to me about what she saw and heard from those returning to the church from outside projects. She wanted to know more about where the sandwiches were going and who they were serving. The next service day, she asked if she could go with me to deliver the sandwiches. She went, didn’t say a word, stood back and just observed.
This same congregation had a ministry serving dinner each Saturday night at a shelter for homeless women and children. Groups in the church would take turns. 8 or 10 people would gather at the church and prepare food for dinner for about 40 people, and also make lunch bags for the next days meal.
Mary approached me one day and asked if her women’s group could participate one Saturday. “Absolutely” I replied.
When it was their turn, the ladies showed up at the church dressed as if they were going to dinner. But they did not hesitate and they pitched in and made the soup and sandwiches and as we worked they began to ask questions about what we were doing and who we were serving. At first, some of them didn’t quite grasp the idea of “homelessness”. They didn’t quite understand that these ladies and their children sought shelter for the night only, spending their days on the street. I could tell that they were a little concerned about what they had gotten themselves into.
When we arrived at the old warehouse converted into a make-shift shelter, their fear was noticeably heightened. This was a huge risk they were taking, and I don’t think it was one they had counted on. The shelter had no running water. It had very little heat. But it was a roof over these folks heads. It was a night out of the elements.
As we prepared for dinner, I asked if any of our guests would like to say grace before the meal. A strikingly beautiful young woman with a small child said she would. She prayed strongly and confidently and ended with this, “And Lord, please be with those are less fortunate than we are. Amen.”
The dinner service began but after awhile, Mary pulled me aside and asked, “Who could possibly be less fortunate than these folks?” I pointed out a window and said, “Those who couldn’t get into the shelter tonight. Those who have nothing at all to eat. Those who are wandering the streets.”
I truly believe Mary’s life changed that day. Her notion of what risk-taking was had started small, but over time had expanded to the point where she now felt comfortable sitting with these women and children, bouncing a baby on her lap, laughing and enjoying the company of these good folks who, just a few hours before, represented nothing but fear to her.
Mary became a champion of homeless causes in the church. She spoke to Sunday school classes and other groups, she went to the shelter many times after that, her idea of risk-taking having been expanded to a much different level. To the day she died, whenever we met, she would mention that day, the day that opened her eyes to what service could be.
One thing I remember so vividly was something she said to me. She said, “That night broke my heart and opened my eyes.” And, although she didn’t say it, with her eyes newly opened, she understood what it meant to serve in the name of Christ. It meant everything. To her and to the people she encountered.
Mary’s story is a powerful lesson of the what is involved in undertaking risk taking service, but just as powerfully, a lesson that tells us that when we step out in service, it can be a transforming experience, a life altering experience, not just for those we serve, but for us, too. And once your heart has been broken and your eyes have been opened, there is no turning back.
In the final analysis, we all must assess our ability to engage in risk-taking behavior. And then we must step out, take some risks through mission and service, both inside and outside the church. I have found that a large part of our assessment centers on fear of the unknown. Anxiety about dealing with those who are somehow different from us. Concern that we will not be able to connect with those we seek to serve.
I understand that. I am not a risk taker by nature. But over the course of my life I have found myself in places that initially struck great fear in my heart. I remember being in the middle of the Brewster Projects in Detroit, the poorest, most crime filled housing project in the city. It was late on a hot summer night and I had been dispatched there in my role as an aide to the mayor. And here I was, trying to stride confidently through those who had gathered outside in courtyards and on sidewalks, wearing my pressed suit and my starched white shirt in the midst of abject poverty, trying desperately not to show the fear I felt.
I remember the first time I walked into the Edgewood, a residence for folks who lived with HIV and AIDS. I worked there for a year, but I will never forget the anxiety that gripped me that first day I walked in. How could I possibly minister to these folks? How will we possibly connect?
I remember going to play and help the kids who lived with their families in the transitional housing at the Milton Avenue Center in Atlanta, sure that I would have nothing in common with any of them and would end up doing absolutely no good. Why would they listen to this stranger? Who did I think I was?
I remember walking into this sanctuary that first Sunday 8 years ago next month, having left a comfortable Associate’s position at a large downtown church to take on my first senior pastorate. And whether you knew it or not, it was one of the most anxious days of my life.
But you know what? In each and every situation I just described I discovered something profound: folks is folks. People are people. We may have slightly different orientations, we may look different, we may face different challenges, but at the heart of it all, we are pretty much just folks doing our best to make it in the world.
Jesus took monumental risks and sat with and ate with and ministered to people that may have looked different by some measure. But in the end, his risk taking ministry served to show us that reaching out is as simple as acknowledging that we are all in this together and then asking, “How can I help?”
Not too long ago I had a conversation with a clergy colleague who was advancing the idea that there was no risk for Jesus because he was divine; he was the son God. His future was promised to him, he knew that the suffering would be short lived and that he would take his place in God’s presence for eternity. “How,” he asked, “are we to get people to follow Jesus’ example when their risks are so real?
I am sorry to say that I didn’t have an answer right away, but an answer did come to me and I shared it with him via e-mail.
“How are we to get people to follow Jesus’ example when the risks are so real? How about by reminding them that they are children of God? How about reminding them that our future is promised to us by God? How about by reminding them that any suffering we endure in this life will be short lived before we take our place in God’s presence for eternity?”
Risky business? On some level, yes. But in the bigger picture, there is very little risk in doing our best in following God’s call on us to serve our brothers and sisters. How can I say that so confidently? Because the life, death and the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ made that abundantly clear.
And that is all I have to know.
Let us pray:
Gracious God, give us strength. Give us peace. Allay our fears. Help us step out in faith. Empower us to be your servants and the servants of your people. Now and always. This we ask in the name of our servant messiah, Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.
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