With Radically Willing Hearts

St. Peter’s Anglican Church – Tallahassee, FL
June 9, 2010 – Pentecost Year C
Feast of St. Barnabas
Audio: http://www.saint-peters.net/sermons
(will be there in the next day or so)

Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3
Matt 10:7-16

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

For the last 3 weeks here at St. Peter’s, we’ve been doing a series about evangelism. I know that Fr. John told you last Sunday that his sermon would conclude this evangelism mini-series – but I’m here today to add just one more thing. An epilogue if you will.

Now, we’ve learned a lot in the last 3 weeks. Fr. Eric first told us on Pentecost Sunday that the true mission of the Church is to witness to the truth of Jesus Christ in the world. Then, Fr. Michael taught us how the entire Gospel was summed up in the Trinity. God as Father is the giver of our salvation. God as Son is the gift of our salvation. And God as Holy Spirit is the means by which we receive that salvation. And finally, last week, in a glorious crescendo of rhetorical power, Fr. John reminded us that this Gospel we’re called to share is one that invites others into relationship with their loving God.

Now, if you understand and believe everything that you’ve heard from our clergy in the last 3 weeks, there’s only one thing left for you to do. To go and do it. But this is precisely the point at which I often struggle: The going and the doing. In fact, I think this is just the point where most of us struggle. We get scared. We make excuses. We say, “Evangelism just isn’t my spiritual gift.”

But today I’m here to tell you that no matter how scared or ill-equipped you may feel for the evangelistic task, you can do it. I’m here to remind you that you are not alone in your evangelism.

In our Gospel reading from today, Jesus is sending his disciples out on just such an evangelistic mission. They are to proclaim the Gospel message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near!” They are also to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. And to add to this already-impressive to-do list, Jesus tells them that they are not to bring any money, clothes, shoes or even a walking stick for the kingdom-of-heaven’s sake.

At first glance, Jesus’ commands are convicting and discomforting for us to read. He’s asking a lot of the disciples. And we’re afraid that he may ask a similar amount of us. Jesus is asking them to deny themselves everyday necessitates, like food and shelter, and to live daily in the expectation that God will provide those things for them. The disciples’ radical faith surely confronts our feeble attempts at such a thing, as well it should.

However, I think underneath the surface of this appropriately convicting and discomforting text, lays a profoundly encouraging message for those of us who struggle in the evangelistic task. Because, you see, implicit in Jesus’ commands for the disciples to “travel light,” lies a deeply profound truth about evangelism: By prohibiting the disciples from bringing anything with them, he’s ensuring that they will have nothing else to offer their audience but Jesus himself. Jesus is telling them that to share the Gospel, all they need is the Gospel. They don’t need to dress up the Gospel as something that it’s not, in hopes that they can trick the world into believing. “Just give them the Gospel,” Jesus is telling them, “and I’ll take care of the rest.”

You see, the disciples only had to be one thing in Matthew 10: they had to be willing to go. Jesus tells them the what, where, and how. They just have to say yes. Evangelism according to this Matthew 10 rubric has very little to do with you and me, and everything to do with God.

You see, brothers and sisters, the disciples were not particularly impressive people. Most of them were just fishermen. But they weren’t people who were concerned with drawing attention to themselves, which was the only characteristic that mattered. As faithful followers of Christ, they only sought instead to use their lives to point towards the life of another – that is, Jesus Christ.

Which means, brothers and sisters, that we don’t need to be impressive people to share the Gospel either! We don’t need to be the most intelligent or educated. Charismatic or confident. We, quite simply, just need to be willing. God can do amazing things with a willing heart. With a willing heart God can use the disciples to cure the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse the lepers, and to cast out demons. And I believe God can use our willing hearts to do just those same things, and more.

It’s not our responsibility to apologize for the Gospel, dressing up Jesus in pretty bows and perfect packaging. Nor is it our responsibility to have all the answers. Why? Because Jesus, by His Spirit, is involved and interacting with the world as you share your faith with the world. You are not the only active party in evangelism. God’s Spirit is at work always and everywhere. Remember that.

We, brothers and sisters, just have to be willing.

Which is not to say that being willing won’t get you into trouble. Or take you to some dangerous places. It took the disciples wandering throughout Israel, waking up each morning not knowing how they were going to eat, or where they were going to sleep that night. Being willing brought Jesus to the cross. But it is that radical willingness to place our own pride aside, and use our lives to point to the life of another, that is the best kind of evangelism.

Today, we’re celebrating the Feast of St. Barnabas – which I think is kind of a funny thing. Because in our readings from today, as well as in the New Testament more generally, we learn very little about the person Barnabus. We don’t know much about his personality. His family. His accomplishments.

But, I think that’s precisely the point. Barnabas was willing. Barnabus so placed aside his own plans and ambitions that when Luke sat down to write the book of Acts, almost all he could say about Barnabus was that “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” and because of his willing heart, Luke tells us “a great many people were brought to the Lord.”

May we all, like Barnabas, go forth today with radically willing hearts. Hearts that are willing to lay aside pride and personal ambition. Hearts that are emboldened to share Jesus with the world. And hearts that rest in the confidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in our evangelism - at work both in our hearts, to give us the words to say, and at work in the hearts of those who hear us, to draw them ever closer to their God.


Amen.