Sunday Homily - May 17, 2020 - Readiness and Gentleness

The Apostle Paul Preaching Icon

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 17:22-31

Psalm 66:7-18

1 Peter 3:13-22

John 14:15-21

I.

A very good friend of mine and priest in the Church

 told me about an experience that he used to have

  when traveling the University of Arkansas campus

   as an undergraduate. 

Between classes,

 he would be doing a number of things on a normal day at university,

  such as hoofing it cross country to make it to the next class,

   or going to lunch with friends,

    or getting done with homework in order to go to church.

But a constant source of anxiety for him as he made his way through campus

 was a Christian evangelism group on campus

  that was constantly out en force

   stopping students as they went here and there

    and sharing the Gospel. 

...except when he started to describe exactly what kind of Gospel they were preaching,

 it started to sound "less like the Gospel

  and more like a hostage situation."

   [his words, not mine!]

The Evangelism group would basically share the Gospel

 by pigeonholing people into an argument about faith and eternal destiny. 

Questions like,

 "If you were to die today, where would you spend your eternity?"

  or

  "Do you think you are a good person?"

   or,

    "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

   

Now, to be clear,

 my friend is a priest in the Church,

  who grew up in Church and has a deep relationship with Jesus.

   And yet, a major source of anxiety for him was none other than the Evangelism group

    that was supposed to be sharing the Gospel with people!

He even told me stories about how he would actually adjust his route through campus

 so that he didn't get "caught" by the group as he passed through,

  because, go figure,

   he knew that they wouldn't consider him a Christian

    because he is an Episcopalian. 

     

Which, I mean, if that isn't a huge indication 

 of absence of basic Christian theological teaching in the Church,

  I don't know what else is.

But, consider the situation in which my friend found himself. 

 He is a lifelong Christian,

  now an ordained priest,

   who intuitively knew that there was something wrong

    with the way this group was interacting with students like him at the university. 

This is the struggle that many of us face 

 when we think about Christian evangelism, I think. 

  And this is even such a cultural stereotype

   that you can readily find caricatures of this type of evangelistic approach

    that depict red-faced preachers in suits and ties, pounding a pulpit in the middle of town square,

     while people pass by trying to go about their business. 

The American culture of evangelism has become a caricature of its own.

 And we as Christians might be worse off for it.

You see, within Scripture,

 we have a different model for sharing of the Gospel:

  and that model looks less like the American caricature.   

II.

Today, I submit that we need another model of conversation.

 We need the model that 1 Peter sets forth for us this morning,

  of the tone for how we are to go about sharing our faith in Jesus Christ. 

And it may sound far more appealing than you might first expect:

"Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you 

 an accounting for the hope that is in you; 

  yet do it with gentleness and reverence. 

  Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, 

   those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame."

    [1 Peter 3:15-16]

It is clear that we are to be at the ready to make our defense of the Gospel hope,

 and that we need to understand what we believe in order to share it. 

  This is fairly clear, as it is impossible to share something with someone else

   that we no nothing about.  

But, key in the Scripture above 

 is also the manner in which we make our defense is just as important:

  "...do it with gentleness and reverence."

How often do we see vehement arguments fired back and forth about the Gospel hope

 and yet how often those tense conversations are empty of gentleness and reverence for each other?

Honestly, I see it all over the place,

 and I've experienced it first hand how conversations about something as important as the Gospel

  can so quickly become devoid of any semblance of gentleness and respect.

   And this doesn't just happen in situations that involve evangelism:

    it happens between Christians all the time. 

But I think the "being ready" to make our defense

 and the manner of "gentleness and reverence" are much closer related than we first think. 

What usually seems to be the case,

 as least in my experience,

  is not that people have ill intent in the manner that they evangelize,

   but that they just don't know how to have a respectful theological conversation.

I'll speak for myself:

 from an early age, I was taught very specific knowledge of what the Bible said

  about certain things:

   sin, death, hell, life, the Cross, Jesus Christ, God the Father, the Holy Spirit,

    and etc.

But I didn't understand how to communicate the importance of that information

 until I learned a much deeper swath of Christian theology

  and recognized how little I actually knew of the immense depth of love of God

   when I had grown up thinking I knew all the answers.

When I was taught

 (through much kicking and screaming)

  the gentleness that I had to learn with not knowing all the answers

   but knowing instead the truth of my relationship with Jesus Christ,

    I was forced to become more gentle with both myself and others. 

I really had to learn that the Gospel I communicate

 is a Gospel that is worth diving deep into,

  and that meant that I had to learn the gentleness and reverence that is required

   in the sharing of the Gospel faith

    AND that I had to learn how to have a respectful theological conversation!

III.

You see,

 respectfully talking about our faith

  is a requirement of giving our defense. 

   It isn't just a nice idea:

    it is an imperative. 

For us who continue to celebrate Easter,

 we of course have to be able to give our reasons

  for the hope that is in us,

   namely our growing relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The content of that faith is very important.

 But the manner of communicating that faith is just as important,

  and maybe even more so given the cultural baggage

   of the American caricature of evangelism!

Instead, friends,

 let evangelism be the gentle conversation over coffee,

  in which a friend tells you that they are depressed 

  and they ask you what makes you get up in the morning.

How about letting evangelism be a sincere "I love you"

 when your children have really gotten on your last nerve

  and you only have the love of Jesus left in you.

What if evangelism is when a family member gets clean from substance abuse,

 and they know you are a Christian,

  and they want to know how to follow Jesus and to love God with all they have,

   because they feel like no one loves them and that they are not worthy of love anymore. 

What if a better evangelism is waiting for the Holy Spirit to show you where your testimony to Jesus

 is needed most at this moment?

  And then to faithfully respond with a gentle and true sharing of your love for God

   with the person the Holy Spirit has led you to?

The world needs evangelism, friends, because of the incredible things Jesus has done for us. 

 But just as important is waiting for God to show you when and where to evangelize,

  with gentleness and respect.

Evangelism and theological conversation are hard to get good at.

 it takes much practice and much study. 

  But always remember, friends, that the model we aspire to is the 1 Peter aspiration

   of both readiness and gentleness. 

Where is the Holy Spirit calling you today

 to share the love of God given to you?

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