Sermon: “Believe”

Our Bible stories today tell us that when Jonah finally agreed to preach to Ninevah – a great city with ruins near Mozul in what is today Iraq – “the people of Ninevah “believed God,” and repented of their evil ways.  Now that was disappointing to Jonah – since they were the empire that had enslaved the Jews – but those ungodly sinners did change their ways, and God spared them. When Jesus preached to the people of Galilee, he went about “proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” 

Have you ever met someone like Jonah, or Jesus, who called you to “repent” or “believe”?  You know, you’re quietly minding your own business, when the doorbell rings, and there they are – the Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormon youth – so earnest, hoping we can be saved.  Or walking down a city street – not too unlike Nineveh or Jerusalem – when suddenly some over-caffeinated, probably bearded, prophet gets in our way shouting, “The end of the world is near!  Repent and believe!”  One time in college, when I was out in the student union studying, a couple of Youths for Christ cornered me.  And after I told them about my church, a Congregational United Church of Christ at lot like ours, these two girls took the time to explain to me – they were so friendly and nice – they took the time to show me with a little cartoon book, where I could plan to spend eternity if I didn’t get down on my knees right there and give my life to Jesus.  And I’ll give you a hint:  there was this dark black horizontal line in their little book, and I was going to live somewhere down below it.  I told them I didn’t need to read a statement of faith out of a book; I was already baptized and confirmed, and I was giving my life to Jesus every day.

But I wondered, is that what we believe?  And if so, how strongly do we believe it?

I’m guessing that many of you, like me, kind of resist that kind of evangelism.  Like Jonah fleeing his mission to Ninevah, I’m sure many of us would rather live in stinky fish guts than have to ask even one stranger to kneel and give his or her life to Jesus!  It’s not why we come to church, or why we decide to join a church.  One of my friends told me about visiting a new church one time and hearing their preacher end his sermon by saying:  “And now, like those first disciples, we are going to drop everything and go out to share the Gospel with the world.  Pair up with a friend, bring your Bible, and we’re going to go out and ring doorbells for Jesus.” My friend said she slipped out the nearest side exit and never went back.  It’s just not our style as Congregationalists.  We don’t believe in that.

And yet, each of us, when we enter into covenant as members of our church, is asked to affirm our faith in Jesus.  We are asked:  “Do you reaffirm your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and promise to follow him in Christian discipleship, as best as you are able?”  Often at our Visitors’ Gatherings, someone will ask what that means exactly, to confess Christ as “Lord and Savior.”  And I tell them that is answered by the next question, which asks, “Do you promise to participate in the life and mission of this family of God’s people – to endeavor to grow in your Christian faith through regular prayer, study, and worship of God, and to offer your time, talents, and resources to the work of this local church as it serves this community and the world?” 

Our confession is focused on what we do to follow Jesus and not on doctrines – because we know that God speaks and is revealed to various people in various ways.  Our founders were wise, I think, in making us a “non-creedal church,” because it’s possible for churches to spend so much time debating details of dogma, they don’t do much to spread the good news of God’s love that Jesus preaches, much less do anything to feed the hungry or welcome the stranger.  When we say “Jesus is Lord” in our church, we are agreeing to follow him.  He is the only recognized head of the church – not the pastor, not the church council, not even the congregation – Jesus is Lord.  We are saying we believe in his leadership, in the authority of his teachings and the power of his grace.  You know how we say, “I belong to this church”?  We belong to Christ, and his church – it does not belong to us. 

We are called by Jesus to be stewards of a church that has been entrusted to us from generations of disciples past – we are called to care for it, as Christ cares for us.  I love how the word “Lord” in Greek, “Kyrie,” has the same root as the English word “curator.”  It is the Lord who cares for us.  He is our curator.  We are our Creators’ masterpieces – like precious jewels or treasures, we are watched over and cherished.  And we reach out in love to one another and to the world, because he first loved us.  Do we believe that?  I believe we do. 

I’ve seen members of this church behave like Jonah and reach out with God’s love to those who are different from us.  Our Church in Society committee leads the way for us – in finding ways for us to give a portion of what we’ve been given to others beyond our walls.  Our Open and Affirming Task Force led us in a series of conversations last fall to see what we can do to be a more inclusive fellowship, in Christ’s name.  I’ve seen us welcome and care for the stranger through our Refugee Resettlement Ministry, and through our mission trips to the Dominican Republic, West Virginia, and New Orleans.  Like the first disciples, you dropped what you were doing (like so many fishing nets) and picked up a call to service to others in Christ’s name.  And as Robin Murphy reminded us back in September, when we said farewell to our Iraqi family, we are changed when we do this for others – it makes us feel good.  So do we believe that God’s love is not just for us, but for the world?  Yes!  We believe.

We are a church that lives very much by our old United Church of Christ motto, “to believe is to care to care is to do.”  And as Laurie Matson told us back in October, we have members who multiply their giving to our church with what Habitat for Humanity likes to call “sweat equity.”  Whether you serve through our Church House Committee and Parsonage work team or whether you serve on Fellowship or Worship or Deacons or join a Choir or teach Sunday School or help to maintain the office computers and website, our members put in hours of our own labor, sharing skills and technical expertise wherever it’s needed.  So do we believe that we are called to put our talents to work for God?  Yes!  We believe.

We are a church that celebrates its call to be a Thanks-Living people, as Nancy Vodra reminded us in November.  We have a message of hope and peace and love and joy to share with the world, in Christ’s name.  That God trusts us to be stewards of his Son’s message is a humbling thought – one that calls us to give a generous percentage of the “first fruits” of our abundance as investment in the work we do together as disciples.  The Good News of God’s love for all people is what Jesus called “a pearl without price.” It is a sacred “treasure” – one that, like a great banquet, must be shared with others to be fully enjoyed.  So do we believe in our call to invite people to join in the Thanksgiving feast of God’s amazing grace?  Yes!  We believe.

We are a church that celebrates its call to be a people of praise, especially through music and song in worship – as the Dorrell family reminded us in December and as we saw with our wonderful kids’ Christmas pageant and heard through our services of lessons and carols.  Do we believe that music and worship and the laughter of our children carries a holy power to change hearts and minds, lift tired spirits and save lost souls?  Yes! We believe.

What a leap of faith we make when we give time and talents and treasure to a church!  We make a true statement of our belief when we just get ourselves together to go out the door on a snowy winter's night to attend a church meeting.  It’s takes a real leap of faith -- to teach a class full of "the squirrelly-est of these by brethren," as they poke each other with crayons and throw spit-wads at each other -- in a Church School class, believing that one day those seeds of Christianity that were planted will grow into faith mature enough to bear fruit.  And it is a genuine act of belief to open up our wallets and put that money in the little envelope and let it loose into the offering plate – to be squandered for who knows what by some church committee or the other, something frivolous, you know, like heat! But when we trust our church with our gift, we are investing in spreading the Good News of God’s love. We sow of seeds of hope, not knowing what the outcome might be. But that is what we believe. Don't we? We believe!

Thanks be to God! Amen.