My father-in-law died eight years ago. He was a remarkable man, a Methodist Minister in Tennessee. He served as a University chaplain during the Civil Rights movement in Memphis. He spoke out on civil rights and his family was threatened numerous times. My husband was just a little boy at the time. My father-in-law would wear a collar and a black cross hung around his neck when he marched.
Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis. The next morning, the city exploded. My father-in-law, along with the Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral and some other clergy, planned to march down Poplar Avenue, which is the main drag in Memphis, right to city hall to protest the assassination and the violence. The Dean of the Cathedral, at the spur of the moment, took the cross that stood on the altar at the Cathedral and carried it, leading the march.
The crowds were enormous. People were screaming and throwing things at the marchers. Slowly, the civil rights activists walked down the street, their numbers swelling. They sang. They prayed. Sometimes they yelled.
My father-in-law was walking by a house when something happed which he would never forget. He would tell the story over and over for years to come. There was this old woman sitting on her front porch in a rocking chair. When she saw the protesters approaching, she rocked back and forth, back and forth. As they neared, she stood up and began to scream. It took my father-in-law a moment to distinguish what she was saying. As he drew closer, her voice came to him loud and clear. And this is what she shouted,
YOU GET THAT CROSS BACK IN THE CHURCH WHERE IT BELONGS!
What in the world was she thinking? I think that woman really preferred to keep Jesus in a building. She wanted Jesus contained, controlled. Stay in church to encounter God and when you leave church, don’t expect to meet God anywhere. Keep that cross sheltered and safe. But that is so wrong. So wrong. In fact, Jesus was the exact opposite.
Jesus did not have a home and he did not expect any of us to sit still either. He did not hold training sessions or orientation. He did not fully prepare his followers for what they would encounter once they stepped out of his presence. Those who worked for him had no safety net, no salary, no security. Unless you were a part of his very small group of disciples, as soon as you knew and loved Jesus, he would send you away. There was no hanging out with Jesus, no simply being together. Immediately, he moved and he made you move. He sends us out. Doesn’t that just stink? There is no hanging around, enjoying his presence. He wants you out, pounding the pavement, walking the streets, working to bring others to him.
In today’s gospel, Jesus sends out seventy people. They have not been with him long, since he just started his ministry in the gospel of Luke. They have had no time for extensive training. Jesus did not create a manual or a study guide. No sooner had he chosen them than he just pushed them onward, without him. He wanted them to be independent and courageous. He told them, point black, that he was sending them out into dangerous situations, that people might reject them or even do violence to them. “I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves,” he said. They were not to pack anything or bring food, weapons, nothing. Just go, two by two, independent, on their own.
What a mess they could have made out there. It is surprising that Jesus does so little to prepare them. I guess that he expected that they would learn as they went. He tells them in no uncertain terms that they are representing him and that they are to tell people that the kingdom of heaven is near. But they must have made so many mistakes! It must have been so scary for them. They had no idea what they were getting into.
It is amazing to realize that Jesus did not hold on to his disciples. He wanted them on their own, independent of him, doing his work. Maybe he knew that he would best be with them when they were out in the world serving him.
Are you willing to work for God here in this country in 2010? The pay is lousy, but the eternal benefits are amazing! If you are willing, don’t expect to sit still. God wants you out on your own, independent and courageous, trying new things, meeting new people. God does not go in for comfort. If you are to work for God, you must take the cross out of the church where it belongs.
Today is July 4th and we are in a tenuous time in this nation. Our economy is struggling. The oil devastation in the Gulf is beyond anything that we can fathom. Technology is raging ahead and we are frightened. Some are afraid that America’s heyday is over, that we are on the decline and that nations such as India and China are on the rise. Our fear causes us to become more and more divided, blaming the mistakes of this nation on others, unwilling to look at ourselves. In our fear and anxiety, we risk losing the independence and creativity that have made us so great. Independence takes courage and it breeds ingenuity.
The founders of this country put their necks on the line and created a new form of government in which the people could choose their own leadership. It was a bold, innovative new way of thinking and living. It was risky – stepping out into that vast unknown. Our Founders were like lambs going out into the midst of wolves, they had no idea what their bold experiment would ultimately produce. They were trying to envision something greater than what had been done before, a form of government that would respect the hopes, dreams and opinions of each individual, but they had never walked this way before. Everything was new and everything was risky. It took great bravery.
My friends, we are in a new era, and we need to become independent innovators once more. I believe that God is calling us to that. This country is brilliant. There is no reason why we cannot discover alternatives to fossil fuels, solve our financial crisis, and improve the lives of all of our citizens. It is scary, but it can be done. It will take great bravery.
Likewise, the church must be innovative once more. We are called to step out of our comfort zone, and reach a world where “anything goes” is the name of the game, and uncertainty is rampant. Where it doesn’t matter what you believe. The church must once again speak and teach and lead with authority. It will take great bravery.
Years ago, I was in Russia trying to research the Orthodox Church, but I was scared to speak to a priest. I would go to the same church Sunday after Sunday and not speak to him. I was too shy, too scared. I didn’t know if I spoke the language well enough, if I was smart enough. I thought he might laugh at me. One morning, I brought a Russian friend to church with me. She saw my struggle and she did something. After the service, as I stood watching the priest greet people, not daring to go and speak to him, she came up behind me and pushed me. She just gave me a shove.
That push made me so mad. How dare she push me towards him? Maybe I wasn’t ready yet. Maybe I needed more time. I was not fully prepared. But I did walk up to that priest and speak to him and that began a new part of my journey.
Sometimes, we need a shove. I believe that God is giving us a push today here in Jacksonville. Here on this Fourth of July in the year 2010, God is telling us to get out there again, to try new things, to be brave and courageous and to step into the future without having it all together. Jesus asked his followers to step out so many years ago and he asks us to step out now. To stop complaining and fighting and blaming and worrying and to walk down our own streets carrying the cross before us, striving to build a better world, affirming justice, equality, and liberty, speaking of God’s kingdom – all for the love of Jesus .
Get that cross OUT OF THE CHURCH where it belongs!
