January 26, 2003

Ian Lawton

Epiphany 3     1 Cor 7:17-23     Mark 1:14-20

"And now people. And now people. When I woke up this morning, I heard a disturbing sound. I said, when I woke up this morning I heard a disturbing sound. What I heard was the jingle-jangle of a thousand lost souls. I'm talking about the souls of all the men and women, departed from this life. Wait a minute, the Lord says the eternal life which is open to us, they'll not find. Because it's too late... too late yeah, too late for them to ever see again, the light they once chose not to follow, don't be lost when the time comes. For the day of the Lord cometh, out of deep in the night. Amen. Amen.'

Reverend Cleophis James in the cult movie 'The Blues Brothers'.

Whew! How does that make you feel? It certainly makes me feel better. I've always wanted to do that from a pulpit in a liberal church. How many of us haven't at some time been accosted by an evangelical preacher, either in church, or on the street, or worst of all in the doorway of our own home?

It seems that your parked car is not even safe now. It was in the paper last week. A local evangelical group has designed a flier in a form similar to a parking infringement notice. Under the name of the Auckland City Council, the Christian group has announced some bad news, some good news and some awesome news. It says 'If this was a real parking ticket, it would mean you had broken the law. Imagine if someone paid your fine for you. Imagine how grateful you would be. The truth is you have broken God's law, and the punishment for this crime is death. Imagine if someone paid your fine for you. Well that's what Jesus did 2000 years ago when he died on the cross, bearing your sins in his body."

It's the same message wrapped up in a new - and catchy - guise. Effectively, the message is: you are a rotten sinner who deserves nothing from God other than eternal pain and abandonment. You are a lost soul from birth, that is unless you accept and trust that when Jesus died on the cross, he took the punishment you deserve. So because of an event 2000 years ago, you can look forward to an event some time in the future where your soul will rest in heaven.

No mention of the present, which is strange because in today's gospel text, Jesus says the time has come. The kingdom is present. Whatever the shape of that time and kingdom, it is a present reality. Of course when the present experience is mentioned in an evangelical message it is along the lines of living in eternal gratitude. So according to that scheme, we can look forward to a life of guilt and pay back for God's kindness.

I don't know about you, but for me there is little in the evangelical message which is of interest or use for present experience, either personally or for our world. However before we get too self-righteous, let me turn the question back on us. Why do evangelicals have a near monopoly on enterprise and imagination? If you and I are to take seriously the urgency and ruthlessness of today's gospel text, we will need to learn from the evangelical enterprise and imagination, and fill the vision with a starkly present message of personal wholeness and social transformation.

Stop and consider the passage. Jesus is being bold in the face of the arrest of John, knowing that this or worse will be in store for him. He called some friends to join him, with little explanation or time to consider that they too will be risking their lives to do so. They are called just to follow, they don't know where nor what the journey will involve. This is highly charged stuff, urgent beyond words.

It was urgent because people's lives and freedom were at stake. The religious and political hegemony were oppressive rulers, who were socially controlling, trapping people in their social situations. So, if you were a leper that you would remain. If you were a Jew, that you would remain. A temple would be a temple, with clearly marked status quo, religious markers of difference would be kept in place, social distinctions would be affirmed. Life was a fixed chain of privilege. If you suffered or were oppressed, that was your lot in life. If you prospered that was God's blessing.

The message of John and Jesus in this context was all about change, movement, repentance, transformation. It was personal, but also social. It was a message pointed at religious leaders as much as anyone. It was a message which caused offence and threatened social chaos. Yet the offence was nothing like the offence of the contemporary evangelical; it was an offence and a challenge to radically alter the systems of the day.

So lets bring this close to home. What is the message, and how can we be more enterprising with the communication? How could we summarise the message for a sign board outside the church? When I was back in Sydney recently I drove past my former parish and found that they had put a new sign board up. It had the words, "Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness", which may pick up some of the words of the gospel text, yet says nothing to contemporary people or situations, nor captures any of the radical nature of the first century Jesus movement.

So what might it say? It might say "Dwell in possibility", or "Live deep within yourself and deep within the world, seek wholeness of body, mind and spirit, challenge systems, work for change where there is injustice, work for healing where there is something broken inside you or in the world, love recklessly, live urgently, critique society ruthlessly", or any combination of these.

The billboard is only a beginning, but it may help to put in context some of the programs we are pursuing. Prayers texted on the phone, an e-zine and web site which offer radical comment challenging the church and society, progressive discussion groups which seek to draw together people of different faith and culture and work at peace via religious unity. Employing a marketer, using our church building for community events, even a dance party. They all run counter to expectations of what the work of a church is. They all run the risk of criticism and misunderstanding - minor compared to that of Jesus and John - yet are all urgent and ruthless in their style. Urgent and ruthless for a reason I hope you understand.

The time has come. Do you see the light? Never again will you and I have a better opportunity to offer so much more than the evangelical message, with so much more energy and enterprise than the usual liberal church. Rarely has the world been more in need of the radical, liberating, transforming gospel message. Do you see the light?

As we begin the year lets together articulate the Christian gospel in new and imaginative ways for the good of our personal lives, our church community and the world at large.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.


May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.


May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen.


May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.


And the Blessing of God, who Creates, Redeems and Sanctifies, be upon you and all you love and pray for this day, and forever more. Amen.